Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc Agenda 08/27/2019Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc Committee Workshop
August 27, 2019 – 8:30 am
Collier County Museum – Main Campus
3331 Tamiami Trail E.
Naples, FL 34112
1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Adoption of the Agenda
5. Public Comment
6. Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meeting (August 13 Work Product)
7. Staff Reports
8. New Business
8.1. August 13 Workshop Product and Next Steps
8.2. September 10 Workshop
8.3. Florida Council on Homelessness Annual Report (Previous request)
9. Old Business
10. Public Comment
11. Announcements
12. Committee Member Discussion
13. Next Meeting Time, Date and Location
12.1. September 10, 2019 – 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
14. Adjournment
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc Committee Meeting
August 13, 2019
Naples, Florida
LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc
Committee met on this date at 8:30 A.M. at 3331 Tamiami Trail East, Main Campus Museum,
Naples, Florida with the following Members Present:
Mental Health Committee
Present: Dale Mullin
Scott Burgess
Dr. Thomas Lansen (by phone)
The Honorable Janeice Martin
Dr. Pam Baker
Susan Kimper
Council Member Michelle McLeod
Pat Barton
Trista Meister
Russell Budd
Janice Rosen
Dr. Paul Simeone
Caroline Brennan
Dr. Jerry Godshaw (virtual)
Dr. Michael D’Amico
Not Present: Lt. Leslie Weidenhammer
Reed Saunders
Christine Welton (resigned)
Staff Present: Heather Cartwright-Yilmaz – Sr. Operations Analyst
1. Call to Order & Pledge of Allegiance
Chairman Scott Burgess called the meeting to order at 8:33 A.M. and led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
3. Roll Call – Committee Members
Fifteen (15) members of the Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc Committee were present,
representing a quorum.
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4. Adoption of the Agenda
A motion was made for the adoption of the agenda and it was approved.
5. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
6. Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meeting
A motion was made and minutes from the previous meeting were approved as amended.
7. Staff Reports
There was no staff report beyond participation in the workshop.
8. New Business
8.1 Group Workshop
The group proceeded into a workshop on the strategic plan. The attached work product in the
agenda packet summarizes the discussions had and work completed and will serve as a
recorded record of the business of the August 13 Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc
Committee workshop.
9. Old Business
There was no business on the agenda besides the workshop agenda.
10. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
11. Announcements
There were no announcements.
12. Committee Member Discussion
There was no further discussion.
13. Next Meeting Time, Date and Location
August 27, 2019 – 8:30 am – Collier County Main Museum
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14. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm with nothing further left to discuss.
Collier County Mental Health and Addictions Ad Hoc Advisory Committee
Scott Burgess – Chairman
The foregoing Minutes were approved by Committee Chair on August 27, 2019, “as submitted” [
] or “as amended” [ ]
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TO: MHAAHC Members
FROM: Chet Bell, Consultant
RE: Next Steps
DATE: August 19, 2019
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to thank the members of the Collier Mental Health and Addictions Ad Hoc Committee for their
excellent work at our workshop on August 13. The product from that meeting is attached.
That said, there are some details from the meeting that need to be addressed. They include:
1. Completion of workshop activities for the two priorities not addressed at the workshop: Non-
Emergency Baker Act /Marchman Act Transportation and Mental Health/Substance Use
Disorder Data Collaborative.
2. Identification of the person who collaborated with Dale Mullin on the Veteran’s Priority – I
neglected to get that person’s name.
Regarding #1, Sean has volunteered to draft the items required (review/revised priority statement, goal
statement, objectives, outcomes and data elements for the Data Collaborative priority, then send out to
Gerry Godshaw and Michael Overway for additional review and comment. I will follow up with Leslie
Weidenhammer to work on the Non-Emergency Transportation priority.
#2 can be easily addressed by providing that information to Sean.
In addition, I would like to request that all members of the Committee do some additional individual
work to develop our Overview of each priority. Note that Committee members cannot collaborate or
discuss an issue outside of our called meetings. Thus I request that you do some writing on your own to
provide the overview of the issue. You will recall that I would like each overview to be 1-2 pages of
material that provides background about why the priority is important. If each of you could write a few
paragraphs on this topic and send it by email to Sean no later than September 3, he will then forward it
to me and I will be able to create a draft overview for us to review at our next workshop on September
10. For an example consult the overview statements in SAMHSA’s Strategic Plan.
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Collier County Mental Health and Addiction Ad Hoc Committee
Mission Statement (Revised)
The Committee will collaboratively plan for and coordinate a full array of evidence
informed services and supports to improve the lives of individuals with mental health
and substance use disorders and overall quality of life in the Collier County community.
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Priority #: 1
Central Receiving Facility (System)
Priority Statement: Design, build and operate a Centralized Receiving Facility for
those in acute crisis as a result of a mental health and/or substance use disorder.
Goal: Ensure that there is a coordinated system and adequate capacity to assure that
citizens in crisis will be able to access emergency mental health and substance use
disorder services over the next 20 years.
Objectives:
• Design, build, staff and operate Central Receiving Services by XXXXX
• Assure sustainable funding to ensure ongoing Central Receiving operations over
the next 20 years.
• Provide both Baker Act and Marchman Act services as part of Central Receiving
Services.
Outcome/Impacts:
• Program: Successful bridging from Central Receiving to community-based
outpatient services
• Program: Law enforcement processing time at Central Receiving
• Program: Transfer time from local hospitals to Central Receiving
• Population: Patient satisfaction with access to and quality of care in Central
Receiving Services.
Data:
• Episode of care data, law enforcement time in drop off data, hospital transfer
referral data, patient satisfaction questionnaire at discharge.
Workgroup: Scott Burgess, Susan Kimper
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Priority #: 2
Permanent Supporting Housing
Priority Statement: Increased availability of scattered site permanent supportive
housing based on the Housing First model for chronically homeless persons diagnosed
with a mental health disorder and increased availability of transitional housing for
persons in recovery from substance use disorders.
Goal: Provide safe, affordable and available housing options for those with mental
health and substance use disorders through the use evidence based and evidence
informed best practices, including rental assistance, rapid re-housing, recovery housing,
transitional housing, peer run respite and permanent supportive housing, bundled with
appropriate services and support.
Objectives:
• 100% of chronically homeless who are diagnosed with a severe mental health
disorder will be housed within x days of enrollment in coordinated entry.
• 100% of persons with a severe mental health disorder identified annually during
the Point in Time count will not meet the definition of chronically homeless.
Outcomes/Impact:
• # of affordable housing units available to persons with a mental health and/or
substance use disorder.
• 100% of all Collier County approved affordable housing will include required 10%
set aside for persons with a mental health and/or substance use disorder.
Data:
• # of agencies, # of providers, increased capacity, # of hours of service, Collier
County annual report
Workgroup: Dr. Pam Baker, Dr. Jerry Godshaw, Cormac Giblin
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Priority #: 3
Increased Use of Evidence Informed (Evidence-based) and Best Practices
Priority Statement: Increase use of evidence informed and best practices in all
programming for persons with mental health and substance use disorders.
Goal: Whenever possible, implement evidence based or informed practices and
services to enhance quality and cost effectiveness for targeted mental health and/or
substance use disorders
Objectives:
Population:
Decreased symptoms per targeted disorder; decreased lost productivity, absenteeism,
arrests; decreased number and severity of medication related co -morbidities (CHF,
Diabetes); decreased number and severity of negative social determinants of health
(housing, income, safety, education, access to health services); increased patient
satisfaction
Performance:
# of staff trained in evidence based treatment/practices; # and % of patients referred to
evidence based treatment as opposed to treatment as usual; treatment completion rates
of patients in evidence based treatment as opposed to treatment as usual; % of no
show rates in evidence based treatment as opposed to treatment as usual; patients
screened for various mental health/substance use disorder problems;
admission/readmission rates pre/post implementation of evidence based practices; # of
ED visits pre/post; length of stay in outpatient treatment; medication compliance ; # of
case management contacts.
Data:
Workgroup: Dr. Paul Simeone, Nancy Dauphinais
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Priority #: 4
Data Sharing, Collection and Outcomes Reporting
Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Data Collaborative
Priority Statement: Develop a mental health and substance use disorder data collaborative
focused on data collection, data sharing, and outcomes reporting
Objectives:
Multiple sources collect internal data and share with other entities in limited ways, but there is
not a process for comprehensively using relevant data, both at the system and clinical levels, to
inform the planning and delivery of behavioral health care among all related community
organizations.
The data could be aggregated for use in planning, quality improvement, program evaluation,
and grant applications. A repository, along with staff, would be needed to maintain, aggregate,
and disseminate reporting on the data collected.
Outcomes/Data:
A centralized data collaborative could collect information from entities including the David
Lawrence Center, hospitals, courts, law enforcement, community providers, including but not
limited to:
• Numbers and demographics of persons served by each provider
• Demonstration of cost avoidance in criminal justice through diversion activities
• Justification for efficient distribution of public funding
• Number of days acute care units are at or over capacity
• Other metrics used to gauge effectiveness and efficiencies of community health system
Action Items:
1. Start with a list of data points we would like to report on – including frequency,
granularity, and sophistication of data;
2. Work backward to outline who was needed to participate in the collaborative and what
specific data was necessary;
3. Draft MOUs for each participating entity surround collection and distribution of data;
4. Establish a steering committee to guide the project development;
5. Design a project plan to establish the database to house collaborative data;
6. Begin to collect data and report on a routine basis.
Workgroup: Sean Callahan, Michael Overway, Dr. Gerry Godshaw
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Priority #: 5
Increasing the Effectiveness and Capacity of Treatment Courts
Justice System Response
Priority Statement: Expand, improve and sustain the responses of the justice system
to persons with mental health and substance use disorders.
Goal: Expedite the diversion of persons with mental health and/or substance use
disorders from jail to treatment, thereby reducing recidivism, improving community
safety and directing resources to optimize outcomes.
Objectives:
Population:
• Reduce number of arrests; improve symptoms; improve child and family
reunifications with supports; # employed; # receiving additional education and
training; increased independence and self -reliance; maintenance of sobriety - #
of days sober; reduce returns to use
Performance:
• Reduce time between arrest and connection with treatment; increased stable
housing; reduced # of arrests/rearrests; increased # of treatment services;
increased # of appropriate referrals into diversion; increased capacity of each
diversionary court program; increased graduation rates; increased pathways to
treatment (new programs)
Outcomes/Data
• Jail days; CSU reports; Drug Court case management system; Misdemeanor
mental health diversion data; CCSO data; Community Drug Response Team
data (EMS Captain is leader); Units of service from treatment providers
Workgroup: Janice Rosen, Honorable Judge Janeice Martin, Trista Meister
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Priority #: 6
Non-Emergency Baker Act and Marchman Act Transportation
Priority Statement: Establish non-emergency Baker Act and Marchman Act
transportation plans
Goal:
Objectives:
Population:
Performance:
Data:
Workgroup: Leslie Weidenhammer, ?
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Priority #: 7
Community Prevention, Education, and Advocacy
Priority Statement: Enhance and augment community prevention, education and
advocacy efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination while increasing access and
community engagement.
Goal: Provide education and training on mental health and substance use disorders to
the community at large.
Objectives:
• Create an ongoing educational program that would certify community businesses
and organizations to raise public awareness.
• Make available to 100% of the population ongoing education to increase access
and reduce stigma related to mental health and substance use disorders.
Outcomes/Impact:
• Develop prevention and education activities within Blue Zones
Data:
• Workgroup: Caroline Brennan, Pat Barton, Michelle McLeod, Dr. Tom Lansen
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Services to Veterans
Priority Statement: Design and Implement services to meet the unique needs of
veterans experiencing mental health and/or substance abuse disorders in including
post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma.
Goal: Make the public and the veteran community aware of the transitional, mental
health, housing, and employment needs of post-combat veterans and mobilize
resources to address these issues for veterans and their families.
Objectives:
Population:
• Reduce veteran suicides – no data available for Collier County
• Reduce veteran substance abuse – 274-500 Collier vets treated by VA in 2018
• # of veterans arrested in Collier County – 100 per year. Typically, 10 veterans in
veteran treatment court
• 40+ homeless vets in Collier County per 7/19 count
Performance:
• Combat related unique treatment – prolonged vs multiple therapies
• Education and advocacy to community and professionals regarding size and
demographics of this group in our region – this data will become self-
demonstrated
• Make veterans and their families aware of and engaged in the programs and
services. A social worker at the CRF to interact and refer. Possible physical
facility outside CRF.
Data:
# of homeless vets, # of veterans arrested, # of veterans enrolled in treatment, veteran
treatment outcomes
Workgroup: Dale Mullin and Dr. Thomas Lansen
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Q: What does the term “social determinants of health” mean?
Healthy People 2020 defines social determinants of health as conditions in the
environments in which people live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide
range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Conditions (e.g.,
social, economic, and physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g.,
school, church, workplace, and neighborhood) have been referred to as “place.” In
addition to the more material attributes of “place,” the patterns of social engagement
and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live.
Healthy People 2020 developed a “place-based” organizing framework, reflecting five
key areas of SDOH:
• Economic Stability
• Education
• Social and Community Context
• Health and Health Care
• Neighborhood and Built Environment
Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population
health outcomes. Examples of these resources include safe and affordable housing,
access to education, public safety, availability of healthy foods, local emergency/health
services, and environments free of life-threatening toxins.
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2019 ANNUAL REPORT
SUBMITTED JUNE 2019
FLORIDA’S COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS
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Florida’s Council on Homelessness
1317 Winewod Boulevard, Tallahassee, 2399-0700
June 30, 2019
Governor Ron DeSantis
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001
Dear Governor DeSantis,
On behalf of the Florida Council on Homelessness, its members and state agency partners, I submit the
“Council on Homelessness 2019 Report” for your consideration.
In accordance with state law, the Council has prepared recommendations for reducing homelessness in
our state. The report also summarizes the extent of homelessness and characteristics of the men,
women, and children who do not have a home; and outlines best practices for ending homelessness.
The 2019 Report shows that Florida’s rate of “literal homelessness” continues to decline. This is due to an
improving economy, increased use of best practices and enhanced capacity at the local level, and an
increase in housing set aside for the use of homeless and special needs households.
However, homelessness by a broader definition — including those couch-surfing with family and friends,
living in motels, etc.— among school children and their families continues to increase. Two of the primary
factors are the lack of housing affordable to low-wage earning families and the devastation caused by
recent hurricanes. A University of Florida study shows these students will struggle in school and have
lower education attainment. And, if not properly assisted, these students are at-risk of falling into literal
homelessness, which will have life-long impacts on the children, their families and the communities in
which they live.
Florida’s success to date demonstrates that homelessness is not an intractable issue—with targeted
efforts we can continue to work toward a time when all Floridians have a home.
The recommendations in this report are designed to build upon the success Florida has achieved in
recent years and incorporate the objectives of Home, Together: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent
and End Homelessness published in 2018 by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
The factor that most influences the rate of homelessness is the number of affordable housing options for
homeless, special needs, and extremely low-income households. The Council strongly encourages
increasing efforts to ensure there is an adequate supply of housing affordable to Florida’s most vulnerable
households. In addition, the continuation of flexible funding, supporting local initiatives, increasing
interagency collaboration to better meet the needs of shared consumers, and providing services to
households with extremely low incomes are recommendations presented in this report.
There is no doubt that effective private and public collaboration at the State and local levels, combined
with strong community participation, are key to solving homelessness. The Council appreciates your
continued support of these efforts. If you would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to
contact the Council.
Sincerely,
Shannon Nazworth
Chairperson for the Council on Homelessness
1317 Winewood Boulevard, Tallahassee, 32399-0700
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appendix I: Updates on 2018 Council
Recommendations ..............................43
Appendix II: Continuum of Care Funding ...............44
Appendix III: Point-in-Time Count Data ..................46
Appendix IV: CoC Geographic Areas
and Lead Agencies ..............................54
Appendix V: Designated CoC Lead Agency
Contact Information ............................55
Appendix VI: Homeless Students
in Public Schools .................................59
Appendix VII: Council on Homelessness
Members .............................................65
Appendix VIII: Definitions of “Homeless” .................66
Appendix IX: Glossary ..............................................68
Appendix X: References ..........................................71
2 Executive Summary
4 2019 Policy Recommendations
12 What are Homeless
Continuums of Care?
14 Understanding Homelessness
What is Homelessness? ......................................15
Why is it Important to
Address Homelessness? .................................15
The Economics of Addressing Homelessness
The Human Side of Homelessness
How to End Homelessness ................................17
Scarcity of Affordable Housing
In Focus: Successful CoC Local Projects
Need for Employment and
Better Income Opportunities
Inadequate Access to Physical and
Behavioral Health Care
22 Building Systems to Make
Homelessness Rare, Brief,
and One-Time
Federal Landscape ..............................................23
Home, Together: The Federal Strategic Plan for
Preventing and Ending Homelessness Goals
HUD Funding Awards
In Focus: Integrating Systems
to Help End Homelessness
State Landscape ...................................................26
What the Data Tells Us
About Homelessness in Florida
In Focus: Impact of Natural Disasters
on CoC Crisis Response Systems
2019 PIT Count Overview
DCF Unified Funding Contract
Florida Housing Finance Corporation
36 Homeless Education Program
in Florida, Florida Department of
Education
Defining Homelessness in School Systems ......37
The Education of Homeless
Children and Youth .......................................40
In Focus: Santa Rosa School District
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 1
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WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN FLORIDA DECREASED BY ALMOST FOUR PERCENT SINCE LAST YEAR’S COUNT AND BY 20 PERCENT SINCE 2015.
2 COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2001, the State of Florida created an Interagency Council on
Homelessness and implemented what has become a national best
practice. The purpose of the Council is to develop policy and make
recommendations on how to reduce homelessness throughout
Florida.
Pursuant to section 420.0622(9), Florida Statutes, the Council
on Homelessness submits its annual report to the Governor and
Legislature offering recommended actions to reduce homelessness
and data on persons currently experiencing homelessness in Florida.
Consistent with a positive five-year trend, Florida continues to make
significant progress in reducing the number of persons experiencing
homelessness. While this reduction in homelessness is partially due
to improved conditions in the economy, it can also be attributed to
adoption of best practices, increased funding, and leadership from
the state.
The solution to ending homelessness is housing. In Florida, for every 100 extremely low-income renter
households there are only 23 affordable and available rental units1. The limited supply of affordable
housing paired with low wages, job loss, a disability, or poor educational opportunities is often the catalyst
for a family’s housing crisis, sometimes even leading to homelessness.
The annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Count, completed over a 24-hour period in January 2019, offers a
snapshot of homelessness in Florida and nationally (available in Appendix III, Tables 1-7). Within the last
year, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Florida decreased by almost four percent since
last year’s count and by 20 percent since 2015. The number of people experiencing homelessness identified
in 2019’s count totaled 28,591; amounting to a reduction of 1,126 people since last year’s PIT Count. This
decrease tells us that the implementation of best practices and targeted housing interventions paired with
services are effectively creating successful outcomes in the fight to end homelessness in local communities
throughout Florida.
According to the 2019 Shimberg Rental Market Study, the number of cost burdened renters increased by
nearly half a million households between 2000-2019; with about 30 percent of those households living
at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). In addition, Florida has a deficit of 356,808
affordable rental homes. To ensure continued success in decreasing the number of Floridians who are
experiencing homelessness, it is a moral imperative that the State of Florida address this deepening issue,
as various populations throughout the entire state are already experiencing the negative impacts from the
undersupply of affordable housing.
In this report, the Council provides an overview of the causes and characteristics of homelessness in
Florida, including extensive data on subpopulations, geographic areas, and trends. In addition, a review of
best practices is offered. Finally, based on the data, trends, and best practices, the Council provides specific
recommendations for the State’s consideration.
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 3
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BECAUSE THE NEED IS SO GREAT, THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDS ALLOCATING AN INCREASED PORTION OF SADOWSKI HOUSING TRUST FUND DOLLARS TO THE CREATION OF HOUSING FOR HOMELESS PERSONS AND PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSEHOLDS.
4 COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS
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RECOMMENDATION #1
Appropriate 100 percent of Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies
for affordable housing and increase the allocation that is dedicated for
Persons Experiencing Homelessness and Persons with Special Needs.
The Council recommends all Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund resources be used
for their intended purpose: affordable housing. Additionally, the Council recommends that
Sadowski Funds be prioritized to meet the affordable rental housing needs of extremely low-
income, homeless, and special needs households. As outlined in this report, the lack of affordable
housing is a fundamental driver of enduring homelessness in Florida. Appropriating 100 percent
of Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies and targeting a significant share of those resources
for homeless households is critical to effectively ending homelessness in Florida. Persons
experiencing homelessness must have access to decent, safe, and affordable housing to recover
from homelessness.
Because the need is so great, the Council recommends allocating an increased portion of
Sadowski Housing Trust Fund dollars to the creation of housing for Homeless Persons and
Persons with Special Needs households. According to the 2019 Rental Market Study, Homeless
and Special Needs households represent 23% of the overall rental housing need; but the
percentage of affordable apartments developed is far less than this. Therefore, it is imperative
to increase funding that is dedicated to developing or subsidizing housing for these vulnerable
populations.
The Council also recommends passing legislation which will “stop the sweep” of Sadowski
Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars so that 100 percent of those monies are appropriated
for housing every year going forward. Since 1992, nearly $2.2 billion of Housing Trust Fund
resources have been redirected for other uses. The redirection must stop so that Florida can
begin to adequately address the affordable housing needs of all Floridians.
2019 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
$350
$300
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
ANNUAL AFFODABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND REVENUE & SWEEPS
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19MILLIONS0
COLLECTIONS LEGISLATIVE SWEEP
FIGURE 1.
Source, Sadowski Coalition
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 5
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RECOMMENDATION #2
Continue strengthening the capacity of Homeless Continuums of Care by
appropriating full annual funding for Challenge Grants and Continuum of
Care Lead Agency Staffing Grants.
Homeless Continuums of Care (CoCs) are responsible for creating a plan to prevent and end
homelessness in their local geographic area, implementing that plan, collecting and using data to
assess needs and effectiveness of programs, and coordinating local community stakeholders to
achieve the plan’s goals. This work is challenging and cannot be executed without the support of the
State of Florida. The Council recommends that the State appropriate funding for both CoC Staffing
Grants and Challenge Grants.
For the past several years, the State provided support to CoCs through two primary funding
streams— Challenge Grants and Staffing Grants. In addition, the State provides pass-through
funding for certain homelessness prevention activities, Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs,
and technical assistance for CoCs. The CoC lead agencies have utilized State funding to prevent
and reduce homelessness and as leverage for federal funding of more than $85 million annually. “In
Focus: Florida’s Critical Support for Continuums of Care” on page 30 gives a more detailed account
of the need for Challenge Grant funding in our state’s efforts to effectively end homelessness.
RECOMMENDATION #3
Embrace best practices and incentivize the use of best practices at the local
level. Reward local governments that invest local, state, and federal funding
sources toward the development and expansion of permanent housing
opportunities for people experiencing homelessness.
As part of its annual funding application, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) evaluates CoCs on their ability to increase the number of permanent housing units for
homeless households within their local community. This requires the support of external funding
sources to leverage state and local funding with federal dollars, thus increasing the capacity for
development and rental assistance and creating permanent housing solutions to end homelessness.
Local governments, like CoCs, have limited financial resources to increase housing units for targeted
special populations. When local governments and CoCs strategically work in partnership, they
should be rewarded. Multi-system coordination is encouraged and documented as a best practice
by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). As quoted from the USICH
2018 Home, Together: Federal Strategic Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness, “Achieving
these shared goals is not possible through federal action alone—it requires strategic focus, effort, and
investments from both the public and the private sectors and across all levels of government.”
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Leveraging resources offers maximum benefit to the public by creating healthy and thriving
communities, increases the potential for successful outcomes, and encourages comprehensive and
multi-sector approaches to addressing homelessness at the local level and employing recognized
best practices throughout the entire Continuum of Care. To ensure that homelessness is rare,
brief, and one-time, a community-wide effort is required. Therefore, the Council recommends
creating an incentive for local governments who direct funding to expand housing opportunities
for people experiencing homelessness.
Best practices for effectively ending homelessness include:
■Housing First programs and policies geared at helping households move into stable permanent
housing as quickly as possible, followed by the provision of appropriate support services;
■Service providers that offer employment and training opportunities for individuals
experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness;
■Permanent Supportive Housing for chronically homeless households and those with the
greatest needs;
■Rapid Re-housing for households with moderate to serious need;
■Diversion of those for whom the homeless system does not offer the best solution;
■Prevention Services to keep people at imminent risk of homelessness stably housed;
■Coordinated Entry to ensure data-sharing and appropriate prioritization for housing
interventions;
■Data-driven decision making to ensure that resources are being used effectively and efficiently;
and,
■A focus on system-wide performance outcomes so the system works well to effectively end
homelessness for the community.
The Council recommends the following specific State actions:
1. Reestablish funding for the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) homeless training
and technical assistance efforts, formerly funded through the Housing Trust Fund;
2. State agencies represented on the Council on Homelessness, as well as the Office on
Homelessness, should take a leadership role in modeling and sharing these best practices
at the state level to ensure that all entities using state resources to end homelessness are
implementing best practices;
3. The Office on Homelessness should continue to use a system to gather data, assemble
performance outcome measures, and accurately report on statewide progress toward the goals
adopted by the Council;
4. The Office on Homelessness should continue to incentivize the adoption of best practices at
the local level by incorporating best practices and housing outcome performance measures
into funding application processes and monitoring for grants managed by the Office;
5. Local CoC organizations should incentivize the adoption of best practices at the service
provider level by incorporating best practices and housing outcome performance measures
into funding application processes for grants managed by the local CoC.
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RECOMMENDATION #4
Pass legislation to revise Florida Statute 420.621-626.
Florida Statutes governing the State Office on Homelessness and the programs administered under the
Office’s purview have become antiquated and are inconsistent with federal law governing homelessness
grant funding programs. Those same federal grant funding programs provide the majority of funding
for Florida’s programs targeting those experiencing homelessness. The proposed statutory revisions
will conform state law to current federal law and grant program definitions, as well as clarify statutory
responsibilities for local homeless CoC Lead Agencies, while preserving financial and programmatic
accountability provisions in state law for programs administered by the State Office on Homelessness.
By conforming state and federal law, the State can more effectively ensure that homeless-related
programs are utilizing best practices, adequately measuring performance, and serving local
communities. In addition, the changes related to definitions will be remediated. The recommended
statute revision will further advance the work of the Council and position the State to drive further
reductions in homelessness.
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RECOMMENDATION #5
Support increased collaboration between Florida’s Community Based Care
Child Welfare Lead Agencies, Behavioral Health Managing Entities, the
Florida Housing Finance Corporation, Homeless Continuums of Care, and
Public Housing Authorities.
Homelessness and child welfare commonly intersect, creating exacerbated trauma and stress for the
most vulnerable community members: our children. Stable housing, supplemented with supportive
services, creates a foundation for these families and reduces the long-term consequences associated
with homelessness. When families have a stable place to call home, it promotes the wellbeing of
children in the family.
According to the 2019 PIT data, 26 percent of the homeless households identified have children,
accounting for a total of 7,287 people. Understanding that a variety of circumstances and factors
beyond the family’s control placed them into homelessness, our communities are now attempting
to resolve crises that lack simple solutions. This cannot be solved by the homeless system alone and
requires the support and active involvement of multiple sectors.
The 2019 PIT data also reflects intersection between the homelessness and behavioral health
systems. 4,947 of the individuals surveyed reported experiencing serious mental illness, while 3,948
reported a substance use disorder.
As nationally recognized best practices encourage, increasing coordination and leveraging financial
resources to expand housing opportunities are proven successful strategies for ending homelessness.
People experiencing homelessness often overlap between multiple systems. This creates duplication
of effort and escalates costs for multiple systems of care. Developing a collaborative effort between
Community Based Care Lead Agencies, Managing Entities, CoCs, Public Housing Authorities,
Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and other local community-based care providers will enhance
the ability to strategically target these multi-system consumers and coordinate housing and services
aimed at housing stabilization and retention. This strategy will help providers better utilize public
funds and improve housing stability outcomes.
Most recently, HUD began keeping a watchful eye on a new population: Parenting Youth. Youth
experiencing homelessness with children of their own are a highly vulnerable population requiring
specialized targeted services during homeless episodes to help obtain housing. Once housed, they
need appropriate support and resources to maintain permanent housing independently. As of
January 2019, a total of 245 Parenting Youth Households were documented in Florida’s PIT count.
The Council supports increased collaboration to strategically address family and youth homelessness
throughout Florida.
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IN FOCUS
Passed in 1992, the Sadowski Act created an Affordable Housing
Trust Fund with dedicated revenue from documentary stamp
taxes to fund affordable housing programs. These programs
increase and preserve the stock of affordable housing units
through development, rehabilitation, renovation, and retrofitting
for low-income, very-low income, and extremely low-income
households.
In Governor DeSantis’ inaugural budget, he acknowledged the
importance of fully funding the Sadowski Affordable Housing
Trust Fund, refusing to sweep any of those dedicated dollars
to the General Fund. Florida is currently in a deficit of 430,946
affordable and available units for ELI households2, and with this
budget, the Governor sent a message that housing is a priority
and the State Legislature should use our locally sourced funds to
ensure every Floridian can obtain housing. As of December 2018,
it was estimated that $352 million was available in the Sadowski
Housing Trust Fund.3
The primary source for developing affordable rental housing, the
primary need of homeless households, is the State Apartment
Incentive Loan (SAIL) program; funded by the State Housing
Trust Fund. SAIL funds are used to provide no- or low-interest
loans using FHFC’s competitive process. As the cost to develop
and construct multi-family housing is expensive, these funds
are used to bridge the gap between the development’s primary
financing and the total cost of the development. SAIL funds
are required to be distributed according the rental housing
needs identified in the triennial Rental Market Study. However,
allocations targeted to Homeless Persons and Persons with
Special Needs households did not start until comparatively
recently. This has resulted in the cumulative supply of rental
housing produced to be disproportionately short of meeting the
needs of Florida’s most vulnerable households.
Unless otherwise mandated by the Legislature, thirty percent
of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars are allocated to
the State Housing Trust Fund. The remainder are allocated to
the Local Government Housing Trust Funds (LGHTF). These
funds are used for the State Housing Initiative Partnership
(SHIP) program. The purpose is to use these funds as an
incentive for local governments to develop and preserve
affordable homeownership and multi-family housing. Eligible
activities include repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, financial
assistance for first-time homebuyers, rental assistance, and
mortgage assistance. Sixty-five percent is required to be used for
homeownership activities.
In addition to the funding appropriated for rental housing
and homeownership throughout the state, the full funding
of Sadowski is estimated to provide a $4 billion-dollar boost
to Florida’s economy, and create roughly 30,000 jobs for
Floridians4. The Council strongly recommends supporting the full
funding of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund
...the full funding of Sadowski
is estimated to provide a
$4 billion-dollar boost to
Florida’s economy, and create
roughly 30,000 jobs for
Floridians.
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GENERALLY SPEAKING, A COC IS MADE UP OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN A GEOGRAPHIC AREA THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS WITH A FOCUS ON PERSONS EXPERIENCING “LITERAL” HOMELESSNESS; NAVIGATING PERSONS SERVED THROUGH THE COC’S CRISIS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
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WHAT ARE HOMELESS CONTINUUMS OF CARE?
Throughout this report, the terms Continuum of Care (CoC)
and CoC Lead Agency are used. These terms have different
meanings in different contexts, so a brief explanation is
offered here.
Generally speaking, a CoC is made up of all stakeholders
in a geographic area that are working together to address
homelessness with a focus on persons experiencing “literal”
homelessness; navigating persons served through the CoC’s
crisis response system. The CoC is comprised of not only
homeless-serving nonprofits but also the philanthropic sector,
businesses, local governments, housing developers, realtors,
health care systems, and more. These partnerships help create
a strong crisis response system that incorporates housing and
services funded by a variety of funding sources; allowing the
system to quickly identify, assess, shelter, and permanently
house individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Each homeless CoC is specific to a particular geographic area,
much like a catchment area. The geographic areas for the
CoCs are agreed upon by the local communities and HUD.
The State of Florida also recognizes CoC geographic areas
consistent with HUD’s strategy. The Florida CoC geographic
areas are provided in Appendix IV and the contacts for each
CoC are presented in Appendix V.
As required by the federal HEARTH Act5, the CoC establishes
a local planning body to organize and deliver housing and
services to meet the needs of people who are homeless as they
move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. The
planning body is typically a CoC Board or CoC Council that
is built of community leaders, as well as representatives of
multiple stakeholder groups.
The CoC also designates a “CoC Lead Agency.6” The CoC
Lead Agency provides staff leadership for the system,
submits funding applications on behalf of the CoC to HUD
and the State of Florida, and has a wide range of critical
responsibilities to ensure that the local system is effectively
ending homelessness.
The State of Florida supports the important work of these
Lead Agencies annually through CoC Staffing Grants.
Without a CoC Lead Agency, local organizations that serve
the homeless, local governments, and other groups would
likely be working at cross-purposes, in silos, without shared
data, and without a common vision, plan, or agreed upon
expected outcomes and standards.
HUD requires every CoC to operate a Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS) to serve as the local central
repository for data on persons experiencing homelessness,
and to track program results. HMIS provides not only
demographics about homelessness, but also reports on the
effectiveness of individual programs, and the extent to which
the homeless response system, as a whole, is working to make
homelessness rare, brief, and one-time.
Therefore, the CoC must designate an “HMIS Lead” which, in
most communities, is the same organization as the CoC Lead
Agency. The HMIS Lead is responsible for ensuring that the
CoC’s HMIS is managed well, has a large quantity of high-
quality data, and operates according to HUD requirements.
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IN REALITY, THE FACES, AGES, AND LIFE SITUATIONS OF THOSE WHO ARE HOMELESS ARE WIDELY VARIED. HOMELESSNESS INCLUDES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, PARENTING YOUTH, YOUNG ADULTS, COUPLES, SINGLE MEN AND WOMEN, AND UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.
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WHAT IS HOMELESSNESS?
The word “homeless” often brings a particular image to
mind. Typically, this image is an unkempt man, apparently
living on the streets, and assumed to be struggling with
mental health and substance abuse issues. We know that this
image represents only a small percentage of people who are
homeless. In reality, the faces, ages, and life situations of those
who are homeless are widely varied. Homelessness includes
families with children, parenting youth, young adults,
couples, single men and women, and unaccompanied youth.
One type of homelessness is “unsheltered,” which refers to
people who live in places not meant for human habitation—
on the streets, in cars, wooded areas, or abandoned buildings,
for instance. Others are “sheltered” homeless because they are
staying in homeless shelters or transitional housing until they
find stable permanent housing of their own.
Still others that experience an eviction or similar crisis may
have natural support networks and can avoid a homeless
shelter by staying with family or friends, even though they
cannot afford to find their own housing. These households
are sometimes referred to as “doubled-up” due to their
economic and housing crisis. Some of these home-sharing
arrangements are relatively stable; in other cases, people may
be “couch-surfing,” moving from one place to another in
quick succession. Further, some people who do not have their
own permanent housing live in motels and similar places that
are overcrowded, ill-equipped, and impermanent.
When we speak of people who are “literally” homeless,
we are referring to people meeting the HUD definition of
homelessness; the phrase includes those who are unsheltered
plus those staying in emergency or transitional shelters.
People who are at risk of homelessness, doubled-up or couch-
surfing, paying to stay in motels, or living in substandard
housing are not literally homeless. Due to the many ways
“homelessness” presents itself, it is challenging to agree upon
a definition of homelessness.
Because these two data sets are based on different definitions,
measured at different times, and for different populations,
the data should not be combined and will not be consistent.
Each set of data can be useful in its own way and for specified
purposes.
For instance, the federal statutes and the Florida statutes
have different definitions (see Appendix VIII, page 66), so
a household may be considered homeless under the Florida
definition but not under some federal definitions. Further,
different types of funding address specific categories of
homelessness. As an example, when public schools use
funding to address homelessness, those resources can be
used for families that are doubled-up; many other programs
that address family homelessness will serve families that are
unsheltered or in temporary shelters, but not those who are
doubled-up.
In this report, a conservative version of the HEARTH Act
definition of homelessness is reflected in the Point in Time
(PIT) Count numbers, which are presented in Appendix
III beginning on page 46. The broader FDOE definition of
homelessness for children is reflected in the tables presented
in Appendix VI beginning on page 59.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS?
The Economics of Addressing Homelessness
The primary costs of homelessness to local communities and
the State are not the costs of operating emergency shelters
and providing meals. Rather, homelessness affects local
economies in ways that are much less obvious. Homelessness
significantly increases community costs borne by local
governments, the State, and taxpayers in terms of emergency
response teams, crisis stabilization units, uninsured
emergency medical care, and law enforcement involvement.
Further, the presence of street homelessness may impact
businesses by reducing foot traffic, tourism, downtown
redevelopment, and property values.
There is also the “opportunity lost” cost associated with the
inability of homeless persons to meet their full potential
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS
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while trying to survive on our streets. Studies show homeless
students have a far worse educational attainment than stably
housed peers; impacting both costs to our public-school
systems and the outcomes of our students (see chapter
entitled “Florida Department of Education—Homeless
Education Program” on page 36 for more information about
these students).
Chronic homelessness, in particular, results in especially high
community costs. People who are chronically homeless are
those who have experienced long-term homelessness and
have a disability. A recent study7 of 107 chronically homeless
individuals living in Central Florida estimated the community
costs of $31,065 per person per year, for an annual cost for
these 107 individuals totaling over $3.3 million. In contrast,
providing those same individuals with appropriate housing
and services in the form of permanent supportive housing
would cost approximately $10,000 per year per person, one
third of the cost of managing their homelessness.
Funding to address homelessness is scarce and it is incumbent
upon the State, local governments, and homeless serving
organizations to invest in programs that are both effective and
efficient. Historically, communities have invested significant
resources in addressing the needs of people who are homeless
through emergency shelters, meal programs, clothing
and transportation services, and so on; as well as through
programs that offer services and transitional housing. While
these programs do address needs, they do not tend to help
people move out of homelessness rapidly or in a cost-effective
manner. This type of investment deals with the population’s
symptoms of homelessness, it does not seek to end their
homelessness through stable housing.
A recent study7 of 107 chronically
homeless individuals living in Central
Florida estimated the community
costs of $31,065 per person per
year, for an annual cost for these
107 individuals totaling over $3.3
million. National Studies show
permanent supportive housing costs
an estimated $10,000 per person per
year. These savings could total more
than $2.25 million annually.
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In the past few decades, extensive research on the efficiency
and effectiveness of homeless initiatives have taught us a
better way to use resources. It is well documented that the
best approach for most households is to help them move into
rental units as quickly as possible through a combination of
limited rental assistance funding as well as providing limited
services after the household has moved into their new home.
This approach, often referred to as Rapid Re-Housing, is
much more effective than emergency shelter or transitional
housing. Further, it is also less costly per household compared
to other approaches. In one study by the National Alliance to
End Homelessness8, Rapid Re-Housing was more effective
in helping people move out of homelessness, did so more
quickly, and was more efficient than other approaches. The
cost of rapidly rehousing a household was 40% of the cost of
emergency shelter and 18% of the cost of transitional programs.
States and communities that are most effective in reducing
homelessness are those that support Rapid Re-Housing for
households with less severe needs and Permanent Supportive
Housing for those who have more serious disabilities. This
approach will be discussed in more detail in the “In Focus:
FHFC Permanent Supportive Housing Pilot Projects Update”
section of this report on page 32.
The Human Side of Homelessness
Beyond the significant economic costs of homelessness in
our communities, there is a very real human cost as well. The
experience of homelessness is traumatic and daily survival
is a challenge. People who are homeless are less likely to
connect with community health care resources, engage fully
in employment and education, and have stable relationships
with friends and family. Homelessness exacerbates pre-
existing health problems, reduces the speed and likelihood of
recovery, and exposes people to more health threats. Children
who experience homelessness develop more slowly, have
increased trauma and stress, and are less likely to achieve in
school9.
HOW TO END HOMELESSNESS
Because homelessness is a complex social problem, there
is no simple list of causes. We can, however, identify
contributing factors, prioritize those factors, and consider
how to address those issues in ways that reduce homelessness.
Understanding homelessness requires consideration of
societal factors that intensify or perpetuate homelessness, as
well as personal issues that contribute to the risk of a person
becoming homeless. The systemic causes of homelessness are,
however, often overlooked while personal issues tend to be
overemphasized.
It is true, for instance, that mental health and substance abuse
issues are more prevalent in homeless populations than they
are in the general population. However, that fact should
not lead one to the conclusion that behavioral health issues
cause homelessness. In fact, the overwhelming majority of
people struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse
issues are not homeless10. Further, the majority of people
who become homeless do not have behavioral health issues
(see Appendix III, Table 3). As discussed below, inadequate
access to health care is a factor that exacerbates homelessness,
but mental health issues and substance abuse do not directly
cause it.
For elected officials, policymakers, and planners, it is
especially critical to recognize the societal and systemic issues
that contribute to homelessness. To reduce homelessness,
state and local governments must address the big picture
issues that exacerbate or perpetuate homelessness. Below
is a discussion of the three primary factors that contribute
to homelessness in Florida: (1) lack of access to housing, (2)
need for employment and income opportunities, and (3)
inadequate access to health care.
Scarcity of Affordable Housing
The scarcity of affordable housing is the primary factor
causing and perpetuating homelessness in Florida. Most
people who become homeless in Florida have extremely low
incomes, which makes it difficult to maintain stable rental
housing. Multiple studies reflect the critical shortage of
housing for households with low income.
The 2019 Rental Market Study11 by the University of Florida’s
Shimberg Center for Housing Studies reports that there
are only 23 affordable rental units available for every 100
extremely low income (ELI) renter households statewide.
Due to the lack of affordable housing for these households,
they must pay a staggering percentage of their income toward
housing costs alone. Among the key findings of the Rental
Market Study are the following:
■At the 0-30 percent Area Median Income (AMI) and 30-
40 percent AMI levels, there are more renter households
than affordable units.
■For the 60-80 percent and 80-120 percent AMI levels,
the number of affordable and available units exceeds the
number of renter households.
■Out of the entire housing stock, only 39 percent of rental
units rented for $1,000 or less in 2017 and continues to
decrease, while rental units renting for more than $1,000
doubled (see Figure 2).
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FIGURE 2.
Source, Shimberg Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, 2000
Census and 2017 American Community Survey.
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
$1,000 OR LESS
0
20172000
969,313
1,511,441
1,013,269
793,275
MORE THAN $1,000
UNITS BY GROSS RENT ABOVE/BELOW $1000
The Rental Market Study reports that 70 percent of renter
households with income at or below 30 percent AMI are
“cost burdened”, meaning they pay more than 40 percent
of their income in rent; and roughly 80% of the State’s cost
burdened renters fall within the 60 percent AMI or less range.
In total, there are 916,306 cost burdened renters throughout
Florida whose income is at or below 80 percent AMI. It is
important to note that 73 percent of 60 percent AMI or less
renter households are employed but earn low wages in the
service industry. The detailed chart below (Figure 3) offers
a snapshot of how serious Florida’s housing crisis is based
on the household income data evaluated by the Shimberg
Center. With an overwhelming majority, households who
rent throughout Florida appear to hover between the 30-60
percent AMI range, closely followed by the 30 percent AMI
or less households. As homeownership is more attainable
to households with greater income, the data tells us that
the majority of renter households also appear to be income
limited.
The level of burden varies among counties and across income
brackets. The Rental Market Study indicates that Miami-
Dade County has the highest percentage of cost-burdened
households, at almost 17 percent of all renters out of the
State. Large counties hold 61 percent of low-income and cost
burdened households.
FIGURE 3.
Sources, Shimberg Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau,
2000 Census and 2013-2017 5-Year American Community Survey;
University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research,
2017 Population Projection
500,000
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2019 RENTER HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME
30% AMI OR LESS 30.01-60% AMI 60.01-80% AMI 80.01-120% AMI OVER 120% AMI
According to the 2019 Florida Housing Coalition Home
Matters12 report, more than 1.96 million households in
Florida are “severely cost burdened.” This represents 15
percent of all households across Florida who are paying more
than 50 percent of their income for housing costs. The vast
majority are households with very low incomes, including
seniors, workers in the service industry, and people with
disabilities.
A household trying to work its way out of homelessness
is seeking rental housing in these tight rental markets—a
daunting task even for those who have not experienced
homelessness and have higher incomes. Access to affordable
housing for people experiencing homelessness is ensured
only by increasing the stock of housing for ELI households.
This need can be met primarily through housing assisted
with subsidies, such as those made available through the
appropriation of Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies.
Repeated “sweeps” and redirection of Affordable Housing
Trust Fund resources has only contributed to this crisis in
Florida.
The need for affordable housing is particularly acute for ELI
households earning 30% or less of the AMI, including those
who are disabled and surviving on disability income alone.
According to the Rental Market Study, there are no areas in
Florida where adequate affordable housing exists for these
special populations. Documented in the Rental Market Study,
15 percent of the renter households are either disabled and/or
elderly and not employed.
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IN FOCUS
In February 2019, the Mid Florida Coordinated Access Team
identified a single 57-year-old woman who was living on the
streets for over two years, and began the process navigating
her through the Homeless Coordinated Entry System and into
stable, permanent housing. During the first year of her homeless
episode, her four grandchildren were placed in out-of-home care;
and she was unable to gain custody due to her homelessness.
In addition to obtaining housing, her goal was to get awarded
custody of her grandchildren and provide a home for them.
Using Challenge Grant funding in coordination with the local
PATH team and other service providers, she received assistance
with obtaining her birth certificate, Florida ID, and other
required documents in preparation for eligibility screening into
a permanent supportive housing program administered by Lake
County Housing Services Department. Referrals to behavioral
health services and meal sites provided a coordinated and
supportive approach to engagement, allowing providers to
continue maintaining contact and improving their relationship
while focusing on the goal of obtaining housing. LifeStream
Behavioral Health’s services played a vital role in coordinating
and scheduling transportation to housing and case management
appointments. Most importantly, her LifeStream case manager
worked as a team with her to locate housing that would
accommodate both herself and her grandchildren. The housing
authority and case manager coordinated with the landlord to
secure the rental unit for this grandmother.
Since ending her homeless episode and moving into her own
subsidized rental unit, she received a donated car passed
through from Mid Florida Homeless Coalition (as seen in photo
above), part-time employment, and regular visitations with her
grandchildren in their own home.
This is one of the many success stories made possible through
funding sources such as Challenge Grants and PATH dollars.
When CoCs have access to the funding necessary to fulfill the
mission of making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time; they
have the ability to end homelessness.
Mid Florida Homeless Coalition, Executive Director, Barbara Wheeler and Cassie
Fountain, PATH Lead Case Manager are pictured with the program participant who
received this donated car.
Successful CoC Local Projects
MID FLORIDA HOMELESS COALITION, INC. - SERVING CITRUS, HERNANDO, LAKE, AND SUMTER COUNTIES
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To address this critical need, it is necessary that new
affordable housing stock is created. Just as importantly, that
stock must include set-asides for ELI households as well as
Permanent Supportive Housing for households that require
consistent support to maintain their housing.
With due recognition of the challenges faced by households
that include wage-earners, the difficulty is even more severe
for special needs households. A single, disabled individual
whose sole source of disability income is Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) receives a total of $771 monthly13.
Because market-rate affordable housing does not exist for a
household living solely on SSI, subsidized affordable housing
must be created to meet this need. According to the Rental
Market Study, there are an estimated 104,273 households
living on a disability-related income source who are cost-
burdened.
For people surviving on SSI or similar levels of income,
the primary sources of independent affordable housing
come from deeply subsidized units or housing vouchers.
For a person whose only income is SSI, an affordable rent
should not exceed $231 per month. The scarcity of deeply
subsidized housing units and housing vouchers cannot be
overemphasized. For those without significant financial
supports from friends or families, individuals living with a
serious disability are at the greatest risk of homelessness and,
if they become homeless, have the most difficulty exiting
homelessness.
Need for Employment and
Better Income Opportunities
Over the past several years, literal homelessness in Florida
has declined steadily and, some years, significantly. This
reduction is due, in large part, to an improved economy and
job growth. This is good news for our state and for those who
have been literally homeless. To see continued declines in
literal homelessness, it is important to recognize the critical
importance of adequate household income and employment.
Out of Reach 201814 reports that a household earning
minimum wage in Florida needs to work 104 hours per week
to afford an average two-bedroom apartment or 84 hours
per week for a one-bedroom apartment. Even for those who
are working multiple jobs, being able to afford housing in
Florida is challenging. Working 40 hours a week, a household
would need to earn almost $21 an hour to afford the average
two-bedroom apartment. The 2019 Rental Market Study
outlines the Top Ten Occupations (see Figure 4) for 0-60
percent of AMI Renters, and all renters throughout Florida.
This data tells us that of the most common jobs, none of them
pay enough to afford a rental unit in Florida’s current rental
market.
FIGURE 4.
Sources: Shimberg Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, 2017
American Community Survey and Florida Department of Economic
Opportunity, 2017 Occupational Employment Statistics and Wages
Median
Hourly
Wage
0-60%
AMI
Renters
All
Renters
Maids and Housekeeping
Cleaners $10.33 ■■
Cashiers $9.36 ■■
Waiters and Waitresses $10.15 ■■
Janitors and Building Cleaners $10.69 ■■
Cooks $9.81-
$12.53 ■■
Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home
Health Aides
$10.97-
$12.07 ■■
Retail Salespersons $10.53 ■■
Customer Service
Representatives $14.34 ■■
Construction Laborers $13.79 ■■
Driver/Sales Workers and
Truck Drivers
$10.07-
$18.39 ■■
Supervisors of Retail Sales
Workers $19.21 ■
Managers $45.18 ■
These facts are further emphasized by the United Way’s
2018 Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE)
Report15, which notes that the struggle is getting even worse
for working households. Consistently low wages, along with
periods of underemployment or unemployment, mean that
tens of thousands of households are one paycheck away
from homelessness. The United Way reports that the ALICE
“household survival budget” costs have increased in Florida
about 20 percent for a family of four from 2010 to 2016, while
there was only a 13 percent increase in median earnings
during this time period. The increase in the household
survival budget is largely attributed to increased health care
costs. The most cost burdened areas remain around Miami
and West Palm Beach, while the rural areas in the Panhandle
have the lowest documented household survival budget
among Florida counties.
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Inadequate Access to Physical and Behavioral
Health Care
The lack of access to health care affects homelessness in
several ways. First, a health emergency and related uninsured
health costs can cause a person to become homeless. Not only
does a health problem often result in the loss of employment
and income but medical debt can quickly exhaust all
financial resources16. Without support systems and safety
nets, a household can become homeless because of a health
issue. Second, uninsured physical health costs for those who
are chronically homeless in Florida communities deplete
community resources. Because people who are homeless
are less likely to access primary health care and address
health concerns early, health issues often escalate. Uninsured
emergency room visits and inpatient stays skyrocket. Third,
like physical health costs, treatment for mental health and
substance abuse issues among those who are homeless is often
limited to crisis response and emergency services. Ultimately,
people who are uninsured and homeless cycle in and out of
crisis and health systems, resulting in high community costs
but few, if any, improvements in health or preventative care.
Without support systems
and safety nets, a
household can become
homeless because of a
health issue.
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PEOPLE OFTEN FALL BETWEEN THE CRACKS OF OTHER SYSTEMS AND END UP BECOMING THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COCS. CROSS-SECTOR PLANNING ENSURES THESE PEOPLE ARE BEING ADDRESSED BY THE RIGHT AGENCY AND NOT BEING PASSED OFF FROM ONE AGENCY TO THE NEXT.
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FEDERAL LANDSCAPE
To understand how we are addressing homelessness in
Florida, it’s important to understand the larger federal
landscape we work under. The state of Florida Interagency
Council on Homelessness mirrors the Federal Council known
as the “United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
(USICH).” USICH is responsible for the federal strategic plan
to prevent and end homelessness across the nation. In 2018,
USICH released Home, Together: The Federal Strategic Plan
for Preventing and Ending Homelessness17. Home, Together
outlines a comprehensive response to ending homelessness,
mapping out four primary goals with underlying objectives.
One of the most important concepts outlined in this strategic
plan, is to expand the supply of housing that is attainable
to vulnerable populations who are at-risk of or currently
experiencing homelessness.
This solutions-oriented plan addresses working together with
a collaborative, systemic approach to ending homelessness.
It encourages development of a robust coordinated and
comprehensive response system that reaches beyond one
system to incorporate responsiveness of multiple sectors.
People often fall between the cracks of other systems and end
up becoming the sole responsibility of the CoCs. Cross-sector
planning ensures these people are being addressed by the
right agency and not being passed off from one agency to the
next. The plan encourages communities to measure success
by the entire system’s overall ability to decrease homelessness,
rather than individual service provider successes. It is no
longer about how one agency is performing, but how we as
a community, as a state, are responding to and addressing
homelessness.
Home, Together: The Federal Strategic Plan
for Preventing and Ending Homelessness Goals
The Office on Homelessness has adopted this federal strategic
plan to be implemented throughout the State of Florida in
each CoC. We detail the main goals of the plan below.
Goal 1: Ensure homelessness is a rare
experience
Decreasing homelessness requires a collaborative, multi-
system approach that increases capacity by sharing a common
vision and developing policies and priorities that are aligned
from local to state and federal levels. Defragmenting systems
and developing a common mission is essential to preventing
homelessness. Employing nationally recognized best practices
includes data-driven decision making, incorporating peer
support services, braiding a variety of public resources, and
development of collaborative and solution-driven goals.
Goal 2: Ensure homelessness is a brief
experience
Quickly identifying and engaging people experiencing
homelessness should result in immediate access to housing-
focused, low-barrier emergency shelter or other temporary
accommodations that addresses basic survival needs until
they can move into permanent housing. Homeless systems
should have a coordinated entry process that requires
standardized assessment and prioritization processes, offering
a streamlined course to housing and services to ensure
that the most vulnerable persons with high-service needs
are prioritized for Permanent Supportive Housing; while
households with lower acuity are housed swiftly using the
Rapid Re-housing intervention. Using HMIS to maintain
an active list is essential to ensure homelessness is addressed
through coordinated and comprehensive set of strategies,
providing a targeted approach to a variety of populations.
The person in crisis should dictate their housing stabilization
plan, identifying short and long-term goals for successfully
BUILDING SYSTEMS TO MAKE HOMELESSNESS RARE, BRIEF, AND ONE-TIME
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obtaining and retaining housing. Housing-focused services
should be the core component at every intervention offered in
the homeless system. However, to effectively prevent and end
homelessness, expanding housing resources that are accessible
to these vulnerable populations is essential.
Goal 3: Ensure homelessness is a one-time
experience
Implementing a coordinated approach to obtaining housing
opportunities for people experiencing homelessness should
improve the ability to move from homelessness to housing
by removing obstacles and housing readiness requirements.
When addressing underlying factors that caused a
person’s homeless episode, in addition to the trauma from
experiencing homelessness, it is important to strategically
employ best practices and link housing participants to
valuable community services based on their needs and desire.
To prevent future episodes of homelessness, coordinating
tailored services and initiating appropriate community-based
referrals offer housing participants additional resources and
opportunities to achieve long-term housing stability. Multi-
system collaboration and access to a full array of resources is
necessary to making homelessness a one-time experience.
Goal 4: Sustain an end to homelessness
Routinely monitoring progress to determine effectiveness of
newly developed strategies helps communities to make data-
informed decisions for strategic planning and future planning
of community needs. It is valuable to develop continuous
quality improvement procedures to ensure sustainability and
to quickly and effectively respond to needs.
HUD Funding Awards
Each year the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) puts out a Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) that each CoC responds to. HUD
scores each application based on how the CoC is meeting
certain objectives and provides award amounts for five
categories: permanent housing, transitional housing,
supportive services only, HMIS, and, in some cases,
homelessness prevention. The 2018 Continuum of Care
Competition for Homeless Assistance brought more than
$85 million of federal funds to the state. Of the 26 CoCs
that participated, Florida’s total federal award to assist CoCs
increased by $1.15 million dollars. HUD Funding Awards can
be found in Appendix II, Table 1.
These federal funds help communities invest in a range
of housing interventions including outreach, prevention,
coordinated entry, shelter, transitional housing, rapid
re-housing, and permanent supportive housing aimed at
addressing homelessness for priority populations defined
as Veterans, chronically homeless persons with disabilities,
families with children, unaccompanied youth, survivors
of domestic violence, and all other individuals who are
experiencing homelessness. The funds also help CoCs
complete the work to create a plan to prevent and end
homelessness in their communities. While the federal funding
is a critical source to CoCs, it is not enough to complete the
work. State, local, and private sources of funding are just as
important in order to have a robust response to homelessness.
Family Unification Program (FUP)
In 2018, HUD awarded six of Florida’s Public Housing
Authorities (PHAs) $3.2 million to administer 374 Family
Unification Program (FUP) vouchers. FUP is a housing
subsidy, administered under the Housing Choice Voucher
program (also known as Section 8), that targets two separate
populations, both involved with the child welfare system.
HUD defines these FUP-eligible populations as18 either
families for whom the lack of adequate housing is a primary
factor in the imminent placement of the family’s child or
children in out-of-home care, or the delay in the discharge of
the child or children to the family from out-of-home care. The
second targeted population that FUP serves are eligible youths
who are between 18 to 24 years of age and who have left foster
care, or will leave foster care within 90 days, and are homeless
or are at risk of becoming homeless at age 16 or older. The
2019 Rental Market Study19 documented that there are 2,574
transition age youth exiting the foster care system who are in
need of affordable housing.
Although FUP vouchers are administered through PHAs,
not through CoCs, the program offers an opportunity to
develop a collaborative partnership between the two systems
which will encourage leveraging external resources to most
effectively and efficiently address homelessness within
the child welfare system. Targeting the most vulnerable
households with overlap between both systems helps prevent
imminent out-of-home placement and expedite the return
of children who are in out-of-home placement. FUP Family
subsidies are administered as a Housing Choice Voucher,
which is a permanent subsidy. The FUP Youth population
can participate in the program for up-to 18 months.
Non-Elderly Disabled (NED) Vouchers
HUD released the Notice of Funding Availability for Non-
Elderly Disabled (NED) Vouchers in 2018. In Florida, a total
of $5,654,856 was awarded, which equates to funding for 674
households.20
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IN FOCUS
Integrating Systems to Help End Homelessness
DCF MANAGING ENTITY HOUSING COORDINATION INITIATIVE
In 2016, the Florida Department of Children
and Families developed a Housing Coordination
initiative to improve efforts between the
Department of Children and Families Substance
Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Managing
Entities (ME) and Homeless Continuums of
Care. This was a step in the right direction,
and in alignment with the federal guidance to
unify complex and siloed systems, a strategy
endorsed in USICH’s Federal Strategic Plan
to Prevent and End Homelessness. However,
we still have work to do and continuing our
advancement will require support from all levels
of government throughout Florida.
CoCs and MEs have several overlapping
activities and a significant intersection of
persons served. The first project to note
is the Projects for Assistance in Transition
(PATH) grant. These dollars, passed through
the ME from DCF, support homeless outreach
and community-based services for the most
vulnerable homeless persons in our communities. PATH grantees have been receiving the funding for years, with notable success
in strengthening the link between behavioral health providers and CoCs. This stronger connection has resulted in increased access
to housing for persons experiencing homelessness with behavioral health disorders. As a second example, the SSI/SSDI Outreach,
Access, and Recovery (SOAR) initiative is implemented by Managing Entities in each DCF region. SOAR is a model used when the
person applying for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration is homeless and has a history of mental health issues,
allowing entitled beneficiaries access to needed income and benefits.
These examples are just a few of the shared responsibilities that exist when serving people involved in the SAMH system who are
also experiencing homelessness. When Managing Entities and CoCs identify specific individuals for targeted services, it allows for
improved outcomes and the ability to serve more people with limited resources. Too frequently, CoCs are the final stop when people
exit other systems with nowhere to go. It is more effective to prevent entry into the homeless system; and this requires a deliberate
and collaborative approach that incorporates multiple systems in advance of a crisis. Working strategically and in partnership for a
common goal provides better outcomes and improved quality of life for the people receiving services in both public systems.
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The NED program, also known as HUD’s Section 811
Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program, can provide
housing subsidies to non-elderly persons with disabilities
who are transitioning out of institutional or other separated
settings; at serious risk of institutionalization; homeless; or at
risk of becoming homeless.
NED vouchers offer the opportunity for non-elderly persons
with a disability in permanent supportive housing to move
up and open that spot for another person. Many CoCs are
using the vouchers for this type of a “move-up” strategy.
Strategic partnerships between the CoCs and PHAs expand
the housing options people experiencing homelessness
desperately need.
The application was rated based on a variety of factors,
including the Housing Authority’s partner agency capacity
and ability to leverage resources. Similar to the DCF’s
Housing Coordination Initiative, HUD’s guidance improved
coordination between PHAs and health and human service
agencies like CoCs and Managing Entities. Coordination was
an essential part of the application, planning, and scoring
process.
STATE LANDSCAPE
What the Data Tells Us
About Homelessness in Florida
A common source of data about literal homelessness is the
annual Point in Time (PIT) count required by HUD. HUD
requires each Homeless CoC to conduct an annual count of
homeless persons (as defined by HUD) on a single night during
the last 10 days of January. In Florida, the CoC Lead Agencies
coordinate these efforts, which are known as the PIT Counts.
The objective of the PIT Count is to produce an unduplicated
count, or relatively reliable estimate, of the number of
homeless individuals in the community on a single night.
HUD provides specific guidance to ensure that PIT Counts
are reasonably comprehensive and that they provide a count
of homeless individuals without duplication errors so that the
same person is not counted more than once.
In addition to producing a count of people who are homeless,
PIT Counts also collect demographic data and additional
information about the person’s experience with homelessness.
This allows CoCs and other agencies to examine trends for
subpopulations, such as families with children and veterans.
Many communities extract counts of people in shelters and
similar programs from the local CoC’s HMIS. People who are
homeless but not sheltered are also identified using methods
such as personal interviews at campsites and day centers.
Understanding PIT Counts
Conducting a PIT Count is challenging. It requires many
volunteers and a great deal of coordination, mapping, and
data entry. While PIT Counts provide valuable information,
it is understood that they are likely undercounts of
homelessness due to the inherent difficulty of locating every
homeless person in a community.
Additionally, even with the CoCs’ great efforts, the results
from year to year can be influenced by various factors, some
of which are outside the control of the CoCs. For example,
in January 2019 the hurricane season affected PIT Counts in
some communities because households that were temporarily
sheltered by FEMA in motels were homeless according to the
HUD definition and therefore included in PIT Counts. The
CoC, Doorways of Northwest Florida, reported an increase
of 28 percent of those identified as homeless in the PIT
count, which is an increase of 107 people. This is most likely
attributed to those who became homeless by the destruction
of Hurricane Michael.
The PIT Count provides a “one-day snapshot” of the persons
experiencing homelessness on a given night and should
not be interpreted as a measure of the number of people
who experience homelessness over the course of a year. In
the following sections, we describe homelessness based on
PIT data. First, overall homelessness is summarized. Then,
separate sections address homelessness among veterans,
chronically homeless households, and families with children.
The detailed PIT Count data on CoCs, including specific
subpopulations, homeless characteristics, and more are
provided in Appendix III, Tables 1-7 starting on page 46.
As depicted in Figure 5 on page 28, the PIT data shows
homelessness in Florida has been steadily decreasing over
the past five years. This trend is likely the result of economic
improvement and job growth, increasing investments to
improve homeless response systems, and increased adoption
of best practices, especially Rapid Re-Housing. The dramatic
reduction in homelessness in Florida is even more striking
based on a ten-year timeframe, over which time homelessness
decreased 48.5 percent; calculating a decrease of 26,968 total
people, which is down from 55,559 in 2009 to 28,591 in 2019.
Statewide total homelessness declined by 3.79 percent from
2018 to 2019. However, the decrease is not uniform across the
state, as shown in Appendix III Table 1. Of the 27 CoCs, 17
reported decreases in homelessness from 2018 to 2019, and
10 reported increases. It should be noted that, although CoCs
are required to follow specific HUD standards for the PIT
Counts, the methodology and coverage may vary from year to
year in some geographic areas due to changing resources.
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IN FOCUS
Impact of Natural Disasters on CoC Crisis Response Systems
When people become displaced due to natural disasters, they do
not automatically fall into HUD’s Category 1 Homeless Definition
of literal homelessness. In response to the crisis, people may
be referred to the CoCs, requiring disaster survivors to then
navigate the system beginning with the required Coordinated
Entry System. However, their displacement should be addressed
through the established disaster recovery services commonly
led by County Emergency Operations, County Human Services,
or FEMA; not the homeless response system. CoCs, without
receiving additional resources to address those displaced,
become the automatic catchment to field anyone who self-
reports as homeless.
It is of the highest importance that disaster response resources
outside of the homeless system are dedicated to households
who are displaced, leaving the limited funds for people who were
experiencing literal homelessness prior to the disaster. Federal,
state, and local dollars can assist households to complete
disaster-related repairs and return to living in their home and can
also fund relocation efforts into new rental properties. These
activities are essential to preventing these households from
entering the homeless system and must be planned for and
addressed outside of the homeless crisis response system. A
natural disaster has an impact on every aspect of the community
and ensuring that survivors are provided with clear and accurate
information to address their displacement is essential to their
recovery.
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2019 PIT Count Overview
Total Homeless
Over the past few years, there has been a targeted strategic
implementation of evidence-based practices and increased
coordination spearheaded by the CoC Lead Agencies,
the impact of which is apparent in the overall decrease of
homelessness throughout Florida. This five-year snapshot
represents a statewide decrease. Since 2015, people identified
as homeless from the PIT count has decreased by 7,309
people; or a roughly 20 percent decrease throughout the last
five PIT Counts.
FIGURE 5.
Total homelessness in Florida, as measured by Point in Time Counts,
2015-2019
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
TOTAL HOMELESS 2019 PIT COUNT
2015 2016 2017INDIVIDUALS 2018 2019
35,900 33,502 32,109 29,717 28,591
Veteran Homelessness
Homelessness among veterans has decreased just short of 40
percent since 2015. Improved coordination between CoCs
and the VA, in addition to the implementation of the by-
name list, is creating a more effective process to coordinate
care and housing for Florida’s veterans. In one year alone,
the data shows a decrease of 131 veterans, totaling a 5 percent
reduction since 2018. Over a five-year span, the number of
veterans experiencing homelessness was reduced by 1,542
veterans, or a 39 percent decrease of veterans who otherwise
would be living on our Florida streets.
IN FOCUS
Marching Forward to Achieving Functional Zero
Governor DeSantis’ Forward March initiative
spearheads an effort for the State of Florida to set a
national standard for services and support provided
to the 1.5 million veterans who reside in Florida21.
In alignment with the federal strategic plan to
prevent and end homelessness, Governor DeSantis
is combining efforts, creating a collaboration
between multiple government agencies, service
organizations, private partners, and local service
providers to guarantee veteran’s access to the
highest quality of services.
Achieving Functional Zero, a concept in the
homeless arena wherein all possible veterans who
are homeless become housed, has been achieved
in many communities in Florida including: Flagler
County, Volusia/Daytona Beach, Fort Myers/Lee
County, Punta Gorda/Charlotte County, and Miami-
Dade County22.
In position with Gov. DeSantis’ Forward March
Initiative, The Homes for Our Brave Supportive
Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program,
administered through Jacksonville’s Changing
Homelessness CoC, is addressing veteran
homelessness in Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties.
Accessing this program through a coordinated and
centralized process, veterans and their families
are provided services that help obtain and retain
their housing; moving from homelessness and into
permanent, stable housing. In total, the Changing
Homelessness Homes for Our Brave SSVF program
has served more than 415 veteran families.23
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FIGURE 6.
Veteran homelessness in Florida, as measured by Point in Time
Counts, 2015-2019
VETERANS1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
0
VETERAN HOMELESSNESS
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
3,926
2,888 2,789 2,515 2,384
Chronic Homelessness
While there is an increase in the number of people identified
as chronically homeless, this can be attributed to the
improved engagement strategies employed by homeless
outreach service providers, and the implementation of
Coordinated Entry. The ability to identify individuals
who otherwise did not participate in the PIT count and
were service resistant tells us that more people are being
engaged; and therefore counted. The chronically homeless
population is a small percentage of the total number of people
experiencing homelessness; representing about 20% of the
total homeless population counted in Florida. Over the last
year, Florida documented an increase of 568 people who
meet the chronically homeless criteria, telling us that the
most difficult people to engage are now being represented.
However, since 2015, Florida has experienced a 12 percent
reduction, or decrease of 771 people, in chronic homelessness.
First and foremost, people who are experiencing chronic
homelessness are generally the most vulnerable population
with the most severe service needs. It can take years to engage
someone who falls into this subcategory, let alone get them off
of the street and into housing.
FIGURE 7.
Chronic homelessness in Florida, as measured by Point in Time
Counts, 2015-2019
CHRONIC HOMELESS PERSONS1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
6,000
7,000
5,000
CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
6,540
6,079
5,120 5,203
5,771
0
Families with Children
Homelessness among families with children continues to
decline. Over the last five years, there has been a 27 percent
decrease of homelessness in this subcategory; a total reduction
of 816 households. With further implementation of Rapid
Re-Housing programs and use of best practices, families with
children are able to obtain housing and receive the supports
necessary to become self-sufficient in their own rental unit;
ending their homeless episode.
FIGURE 8.
Literally homeless families in Florida, as measured by Point in Time
Counts, 2015-2019
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
3,000
3,500
2,500
LITERALLY HOMELESS FAMILIES
2015 2016 2017HOUSEHOLDS 2018 2019
3,053 3,031 2,831
2,436 2,236
0
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IN FOCUS
Florida’s Critical Support for Continuums of Care
The State of Florida Office on Homelessness supports the Continuum of Care lead agencies in several ways. The Office on
Homelessness assists with two primary funding streams – Challenge Grants and Staffing Grants. Additionally, it administers pass-
through funding for homelessness prevention activities and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs. The Challenge Grants have
been an important source of flexible funding for CoCs across the state. The grant was funded from 2001 to 2011 through the Local
Government Housing Trust Fund (LGHTF) but was eliminated in 2012 due to the sweeps of the bulk of Affordable Housing Trust Fund
revenues. In 2014, the Legislature recognized the critical need for Challenge Grants and once more began to appropriate funding for this
vital component of our communities’ CoCs. For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, DCF was provided budget authority for the Challenge Grants,
but no proviso language appeared in the budget to allow the transfer of source funding from the LGHTF, resulting in fewer resources to
address homelessness this past year. The push continues to ensure a recurring source of funding for the Challenge Grants.
Challenge Grants are a pivotal source of flexible funding allowing for permanent housing programs, homelessness prevention, outreach,
coordinated entry, and other critical supports and services in the CoCs. This legislative session the Challenge Grant was funded as
recurring out of the general revenue. The Council strongly recommends that the Challenge Grants continue to be funded annually to
support the CoCs.
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Total Number of Persons in Families
Experiencing Homelessness
Aligning with the documented reduction of families with
children who are experiencing homelessness, the total
number of individuals in these households is also decreasing.
Within just one year, Florida has experienced a decrease of
1,013 individuals in these households. This calculates to a 12
percent decrease since the 2018 PIT count, and a 24 percent
reduction since 2015.
FIGURE 9.
Persons in literally homeless families in Florida, as measured by Point
in Time Counts, 2015-2019
2,000
4,000
6,000
10,000
8,000
PERSONS IN LITERALLY HOMELESS FAMILIES
2015 2016 2017PERSONS 2018 2019
9,575 9,358 9,363
8,300
7,287
0
DCF Unified Funding Contract
In a thoughtful and strategic approach to funding homeless
services through DCF, the Unified Homelessness RFA &
Contract was developed. Until 2016, solicitations were
released annually, providing a short window to execute
the contract and spend-down the dollars awarded. Until
recently, the contracts for each funding stream were applied
for and awarded individually, creating a burdensome process
for already stretched CoCs. In 2017, CoCs were able to
roll their previously separately awarded contracts into one
single contract. Florida Coalition for the Homeless’ contract
analysis that was conducted in 2018 provided feedback that
initiated the idea to better align contracts than in previous
years. As of January 2019, the newly released RFA offered
CoCs a nine-week submission deadline, as opposed to
historically providing a shorter turn-around time, with three
RFAs back-to-back. The new contract cycle allows the CoCs
to plan accordingly and have three full years to spend the
dollars.
This consolidated RFA approach now incorporates reporting
requirements that, until now, were not included. The lack of
clear reporting expectations resulted in inconsistent reporting
across homeless contracts and CoCs. It is expected that the
unified approach will improve data submission due to the
requirement of monthly status reports.
FIGURE 10.
Department of Children and Families,
Office on Homelessness.
CHALLENGE GRANT FUNDING
39%RAPID REHOUSING
2% BENEFITS EMPLOYMENT
8% EMERGENCY SHELTER VOUCHERS
7% ADMINISTRATION
24%STREET OUTREACH/CASE MANAGEMENT
13%HMIS COORDINATEDENTRY
7%OTHER
CHALLENGE GRANT FUNDING
39%RAPID REHOUSING
2% BENEFITS EMPLOYMENT
8% EMERGENCY SHELTER VOUCHERS
7% ADMINISTRATION
24%STREET OUTREACH/CASE MANAGEMENT
13%HMIS COORDINATEDENTRY
7%OTHER
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FHFC Permanent Supportive Housing Pilot Projects Update
Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s
statewide pilot projects aimed at housing the
most vulnerable and chronically homeless,
high utilizers of multi-system services have
proven successful since their inception. In
alignment with recognized best practices,
these three housing projects incorporate
Coordinated Entry for homeless households
to access the affordable units through the
LINK Unit program paired with supportive
and tailored services based on the individual’s
needs. Consistent throughout these pilot
projects is a shift to community-based
preventative services, generating a decrease
in deep-end crisis services that are costly to
the community.
IN FOCUS
Now on a three-year cycle, the next Unified Homelessness
RFA & Contract solicitation will take place in 2022. This
consolidation of competitive funding is easier for both CoCs
and DCF to manage and allows for data-driven decision
making during future funding cycles. Over $12.3 million in
homeless-specific dollars in ESG, Challenge Grant, and TANF
funding were released to CoCs throughout Florida on July
01, 2019, successfully beginning the 2019-2020 fiscal year
(available in Appendix II).
Florida Housing Finance Corporation
Affordable Housing Workgroup
As a continuation from the 2017 Affordable Housing
Workgroup, a Low Barrier Entry Workgroup convened five
meetings in 2018 to develop recommendations aimed at
lowering barriers for extremely low-income (ELI) households,
increasing their ability to secure rental housing financed
by Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC). These
proposed recommendations24 were submitted to FHFC for
consideration in future funding cycles.
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These recommendations will help Floridians who may qualify
to participate in FHFC’s funded developments. Within
FHFC developments are set-aside LINK Units that target
special populations within specific income levels. LINK units
are filled by designated referral agencies referring potential
tenants to these properties. Often times, applicants who
meet the income or special population definition may also
bring poor credit or a criminal background. To ensure
that these LINK rental units are set aside for the “hard to
house” population, it is essential to develop a “no side door”
philosophy, work in coordination with the CoC, and access
the LINK Units through the Coordinated Entry process to
ensure that these units become occupied by the populations
they were intended to serve.
In addition to these recommendations, the Low Barrier Entry
Workgroup endorsed developing a second workgroup with
an emphasis on standardizing tenant selection criteria for
applicants with a criminal history. The categories addressed
in the Low Barrier Entry Workgroup’s final recommendations
include tenant selection criteria, tenant application packet and
fees, security deposits, income requirements, credit record,
criminal and eviction history, and application ineligibility.
Coalition Lift in Miami-Dade County
Carrfour Supportive Housing’s Coalition Lift program is
a demonstration project comprised of 34 newly renovated
rental units for ELI residents that pairs housing with on-site
supportive services. Coalition Lift is primarily funded by
FHFC as part of a statewide initiative aiming to increase the
stock of permanent supportive housing and generate data
that documents the effectiveness of supportive housing for
chronically homeless adults who are high utilizers of services.
The initial review of Coalition Lift’s year one interim findings
is based on data from 34 participants, separated into three
pilot groups, to demonstrate significant cost savings when
comparing the costs one-year post-housing to one year prior
to their admission into the program. The study showed a 65%
reduction in Medicaid costs in addition to resulting in an
almost 73% reduction in costs to the hospital system; program
participants had zero emergency room visits once housed
due to linkage to primary health care. While participants
reduced their use of crisis and emergency services provided at
hospitals, they transitioned to outpatient, community-based
mental health and substance abuse services to address their
needs.
Pinellas V in Pinellas County
Pinellas V is the successor of a different program, Pinellas
Hope, that made its start in December 2007 as a temporary
emergency shelter for over 250 homeless men and women,
located in Clearwater on 20 acres provided by Bishop
Robert N. Lynch and the Diocese of St. Petersburg. In 2017,
through the Florida Housing Pilot Project funding, a 45-unit
development was added and fully leased in June 2017.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of St. Petersburg employs two
intensive case managers to coordinate support services
A formerly homeless individual who refused to go into shelter because of
his dogs is now stably housed at Carrfour Supportive Housing.
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$244
INCREASE IN
MONTHLY INCOME
72%
DECREASE IN
JAIL COSTS
9.9%
DECREASE IN
SUBSTANCE USE
OR DEPENDENCE
57.6%
43% REDUCTION IN ER SERVICES59% REDUCTION IN INPATIENT SERVICES
30.9%
REDUCTION IN
SUICIDALITY
DECREASE IN
HOSPITAL COSTS
FIGURE 11.
Source, Jacksonville Business Journal, “Permanent Housing For Homeless Saves Jacksonville Taxpayers Money,” presented by Ability Housing.
for the Permanent Supportive Housing tenants. Catholic
Charities also continues to work closely with the Homeless
Leadership Board and Homeless Street Outreach Teams in
Pinellas County to coordinate the identification, assessment,
and housing of the CoC’s high-cost/high-needs chronically
homeless individuals.
Village on Wiley in Duval County
Village on Wiley in Duval County is approaching its fourth
year of operations after opening in the fall of 2015. Of the
68 individuals evaluated25, Ability Housing reports positive
outcomes detailed below (in Figure 11).
All applicants are working with their pilot-approved cost/
benefits studies’ research teams. Florida Housing’s Board
makes funds available every year to support the cost of
each pilot site’s cost/benefits study. Meanwhile, DCF and
the Agency for Health Care Administration have been very
helpful to Florida Housing and the pilot sites in addressing
operations or research issues.
Local data from the last three years is demonstrating an
improved quality of life, including health outcomes and
reduced costs to the healthcare and criminal justice systems.
The interim findings show a total costs savings of $2,458,992
across publicly funded systems and crisis services utilized by
participants.
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SCHOOLS IDENTIFY HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AS OPPOSED TO THE SINGLE NIGHT OF THE POINT IN TIME COUNT. BOTH ARE VALID MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES BUT OFFER CHALLENGES TO DATA COMPARISON.
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HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM IN FLORIDA, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS
DEFINING HOMELESSNESS IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS
The McKinney-Vento Act definition of homelessness
(Subtitle VII-B) more broadly accounts for the traumatic
impact of loss of housing on children and youth and the
impact of that trauma on their education and development.
This definition includes those children and youth in
families that are unsheltered or staying in public shelters or
transitional housing, as well as those who have had to move
in with relatives or friends or to a motel or hotel or a camp
site or travel trailer park or a FEMA trailer, because they have
nowhere else to go.
Schools identify homeless children and youth throughout
the year, as opposed to the single night of the Point in Time
Count. Both are valid measurement procedures but offer
challenges to data comparison. It is important to note that the
living situation designations of school districts are recorded
only at the time that a school determines that the student
meets MVA eligibility criteria. These living situations tend to
be fluid. Over the course a school year, many families live in
various situations. Anecdotal evidence from school district
homeless liaisons suggests that when families experience
extended periods of homelessness, it is common for them to
live with others for a while, then move into a motel, then into
a public shelter or transitional living situation. Some families
even end up living in unsheltered situations.
MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT, SUBTITLE VII-B, SECTION 725(2)
The term `homeless children and youths’ is defined as:
Individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes children and youths who -
■Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason
■Are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate
accommodations
■Are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals
■Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
■Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or
similar settings; and
■Are migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances
described in clauses (i) through (iii).
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The variations in definition and methodology for counting
result in a data set that is, at times, confusing. However, when
considered in a broader context, and with other data sets, they
provide opportunities for a dynamic understanding of the
barriers to stable housing and suggest solutions for removing
those barriers.
In the education arena, homelessness is defined in a
broader way, because research shows that loss of housing
detrimentally impacts student academic success. Children
and youth whose families lose their housing and move
in with family or friends (“doubled up”) are considered
homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act. Additionally, unlike a community’s point in time
count, school districts collect student data throughout the
school year. The importance of this difference is highlighted
in Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix VI provided by the Florida
Department of Education (FDOE).
According to the Florida Department of Education data
(Figure 12), 76.8% of the 95,860 homeless students identified
by Florida’s schools in 2017-2018 are doubled up with
family or friends. Since this population does not fit into the
classification of literal homelessness, most students identified
as homeless by the Department of Education are ineligible to
receive assistance through the CoC’s crisis response system,
but the impact on their academic performance remains. The
next largest percentage of homeless students are those living
in motels, which account for 11.6%, followed closely by the
8.6% of homeless students living in shelters.
The difference in metrics and definitions makes an almost
8-fold difference in describing family homelessness. Figure
13 below illustrates the identification of the total number of
homeless students in Florida over the last five school years as
reported by the FDOE.
The data collected from the Florida Department of Education
documenting the 2017-2018 school year shows a state-wide
increase of 19,649 students experiencing homelessness, a
nearly 26 percent increase from the previous school year.
Nearly all of this increase was due to the impact of Hurricanes
Irma and Maria in the fall of 2017.
FIGURE 12.
Florida Department of Education, Homeless Student Count 2017-2018 School Year
LIVING SITUATION IDENTIFIED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS 2017-2018
3.1%OTHER
11.6%MOTELS
8.6%SHELTERS
76.8%SHARED HOUSING
43% REDUCTION IN ER SERVICES59% REDUCTION IN INPATIENT SERVICES
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FIGURE 13.
Florida Department of Education, Homeless Student Count 2013-2019
NUMBER OF HOMELESS STUDENTS20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
0
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
HOMELESS STUDENT COUNT 2013-18
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
71,446 73,229 72,957 76,211
95,860
Families lose housing most frequently due to eviction,
foreclosure, or other economic hardship, though in 2017-
2018, the impact of hurricanes accounted for most of the
increase in student homelessness. They can also lose housing
because of a natural or man-made disaster or domestic
violence. In any case, the family loses a legal hold on their
space. They are residing in a place by the grace and mercy of
friends or relatives or by their last dollars, in a shelter, or on
the streets. It doesn’t matter to the children. Their world just
turned upside down. In most cases, their school is the only
space that looks familiar and “belongs” to them.
Even if children have a roof over their heads, the space is not
theirs and they are homeless. These circumstances can have
a long-lasting detrimental impact on the social-emotional
development and educational progress of children. Once
housing is lost, especially if lost for economic reasons such as
loss of employment, it usually takes a long time for the family
to gather the financial resources necessary to regain access
to their own housing. Families in this situation can become
mobile and have difficulty staying together.
HURRICANE IMPACTS
Until the 2017-2018 school year, Florida’s school districts identified a steadily increasing number of homeless
children and youth. Through the 2016-2017 school year, this increase is due in part to an increase in child and
youth homelessness, but also to improved school district identification practices. In 2017-2018 and 2018-2019
school years, sharp increases reflected the impact of hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Michael.
In the 2017-2018 school year, almost 20,000 students were impacted and rendered homeless by either Hurricane
Irma or Hurricane Maria, resulting in a total of 95,860 Pre-K to grade 12 students identified as homeless – a 26%
increase statewide. Many families in Monroe, and other south Florida counties, were rendered homeless, while
others in Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean territories found refuge in Florida, at least temporarily. Florida’s
school districts responded quickly to receive, place and educate their own and evacuating homeless children and
youth.
Final data is not currently available for the impact of Hurricane Michael. Preliminary data from Bay District
Schools indicate that the impact of Michael was devastating to the school district. In the three years previous to
Michael, Bay identified an average of 1,537 homeless students. On October 5, 2018, the last day of school before
Hurricane Michael’s landfall, Bay District Schools had identified 748 homeless children and youth. Even given
that the district’s web site reported an enrollment reduction of 3,679 students following Hurricane Michael,
Bay’s designated homeless liaison reported that, as of April 15, 2019, a total of 5,562 homeless students have been
identified, of those are 4,687 due to the hurricane.
Michael’s impact was similar in Gulf, Liberty, Calhoun, Gadsden and Jackson counties.
The Department of Education is providing additional federal Education of Homeless Education and Youth funds
to all of the school districts in the path of Hurricane Michael. Funds will be used to remove barriers to regular
school attendance and support for the academic progress of homeless students.
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For children and youth who lose their housing, the experience
is traumatic. Loss of housing requires most of a child’s
attention and emotional energy to understand what is
happening to them and their family. Family routines are
different, their neighborhood relationships, the foundation
of childhood security, are gone and the third primary source
of emotional security and relationships, their school, is
threatened.
While some are more resilient than others, children do not
have the life experience or maturity to effectively process this
event. The result is doubly detrimental because this age is
the time of their lives for setting a foundation of knowledge
and skills for life. The academic performance of children and
youth who also change schools due to loss of housing tends to
drop sharply.
The Education of Homeless Children and Youth
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVA),
the driving policy for homeless education, is incorporated
into the Federal education code as Title IX, Part A of Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)26. The basic tenants of the MVA
are that homeless children and youth:
■Have equal access to the same free, appropriate public
education, including a public preschool education, as
other children and youths;
■Have barriers to identification of homeless children and
youth, their attendance and participation in school, and
their academic achievement identified and removed;
■Are assured that they will not be separated from the
mainstream school environment; and
■Have access to the educational and related services that
they need to enable them to meet the same challenging
State academic standards to which all students are held.
The Florida Department of Education’s (FDOE’s) Strategic
Plan27 assures the academic progress of all students, including
those experiencing homelessness. It is within the context of
this vision that Florida’s schools and school districts work to
identify and support homeless children and youth. FDOE’s
Homeless Education Program works with school districts
to assure that homeless children and youth in Florida are
consistently identified, enrolled quickly in eligible schools
and programs that are in their best interest, and are fully
participating and achieving in available education programs.
All school districts emphasize the achievement of three
outcomes in their program:
1. Identification of all homeless children and youth in their
community,
2. Identification and removal of barriers to regular school
attendance and full participation in school programs and
activities, and,
3. Continuing academic progress of students experiencing
homelessness.
While all public school districts are required to comply
with the McKinney-Vento Act, congress provides no direct
funding. The bulk of funding comes from a set-aside of Title
I, Part A (TIPA) funds at the local level. These set-asides
range from less than one percent of the total TIPA allocation
to five percent. Congress does provide funds to expand and
enhance local school district efforts through a competitive
procurement process. Forty-seven school districts were
awarded these funds for three-year projects ending June
30, 2018-2021. Awards range from $25,000 to $125,000,
depending on the number of homeless children and youth
identified by the school district. School districts performing
at a high level in identifying homeless children and youth
received a five percent performance recognition. School
districts in the path of Hurricane Michael were provided an
opportunity for additional funds, from this source, in the
2019-2020 school year.
The McKinney-Vento Act requires each school district to
designate a Homeless Education Liaison to coordinate its
implementation. Florida’s Homeless Liaisons are greatly
resourceful in their ability to garner tangible support within
the school district and from their communities. These liaisons
are responsible for the following:
1. Referrals of homeless students and their families to
available housing, health, mental health, and substance
abuse services
2. Assistance to unaccompanied youth to complete the
types of tasks that parents would typically do
3. Assistance in obtaining documentation for school
enrollment, including medical records
4. Verifying unaccompanied homeless high school
graduates’ independent status so they can qualify for
college financial aid
Partnerships can be formidable as they are assuring that
as many students as possible are identified and have the
material, supplies, school uniforms, shoes, and other clothing,
hygiene products, and academic support to be successful in
their education. Partnerships, as well as funds, are an essential
resource for a successful homeless education program.
School district Homeless Liaisons develop relationships
with organizational partners with specific purposes to
identify homeless children and youth, remove barriers that
prevent regular school attendance, and support academic
achievement.
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The challenges facing school districts in achieving educational
outcomes for their homeless children and youth commonly
include:
■Housing stability, availability, and affordability;
■Employment for parents and guardians;
■Access to basic needs such as clothing and food, and
materials and equipment needed for participation in
athletics and afterschool activities;
■Resources to cover the excess cost of transportation for
homeless students who remain in the schools they were
attending when they became homeless (school of origin);
■Capacity to assure that school staff and community
partners are trained to identify families, children, and
youth experiencing homelessness;
■Social work and case management capacity to identify
and address issues that threaten regular school
attendance;
■Capacity to recruit, train, and manage mentors;
■Postsecondary education (technical college, college,
university) preparation and guidance for unaccompanied
homeless youth;
■Lack of clarity of the statutory definition and parameters
of homelessness for the purpose of the state tuition
and fee exemption for public postsecondary education
(s.1009.25(1)(f), F.S.)
In a recent study, the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies
and Miami Homes for All released Homelessness and
Education in Florida: Impacts on Children and Youth28. Some
of the report’s key findings include the following:
■Homeless students were absent for an average of 15 days,
compared to 11 days for housed/free-reduced lunch
students and 8 days for housed/full price lunch students.
■Passing rates for Florida’s English language arts, math,
and science tests were much lower for homeless students
than for housed students.
■16 percent of homeless students were suspended from
school at least once.
The gaps between homeless and housed students would be
larger without the array of services that schools provide,
including enrollment assistance.
To ensure equal access to all students, the Federal McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act guarantees that children and
youth who are experiencing homelessness can obtain parallel
educational opportunities to all other students. Under
McKinney-Vento, students can also participate in any school
programs and receive any school services for which they
qualify in addition to their rights listed below29.
1. Continue to attend the school they last attended before
they lost their housing (school of origin), if that is
the parent/guardian’s choice and is in the child’s best
interest, or the school which is zoned for their temporary
residence;
2. Enroll and attend classes immediately while the school
arranges for the transfer of school and immunization
records and other required enrollment documents;
3. If necessary, enroll and attend classes in the school
selected by the parent/guardian (school of origin or
zoned school), while the school and the parent/guardian
seek to resolve a dispute over which school is in the best
interest of the child - NOTE: This does not mean any
school in the district, only the school of origin or zoned
school;
4. Receive transportation to the school of origin (if a parent/
guardian requests such transportation).
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IN FOCUS
The One Family, One Year, One Home Tenant Based Rental
Assistance Program was developed in 2016 when Florida
Housing Finance Corporation allocated funding for a Small
Counties Demonstration Project aimed at providing housing
to schoolchildren and their families who were experiencing
homelessness. Facilitating this effort, Opening Doors of
Northwest Florida – the CoC Lead Agency - engaged FHFC,
the Santa Rosa School District, and Milton County Housing
Authority. By braiding funding sources to support rental
assistance and services, this program has successfully housed 22
families; of those totaling 62 students from Pre-K to 12th grade.
Eligibility is based on two components: first, the student must
be enrolled in the Santa Rosa School District and second,
the student must be eligible for McKinney-Vento Services.
Participating families must apply and be willing to participate in
a case management program and engage in services that support
the child’s school successes.
This data resulting from this program tells us that with housing
stability comes higher educational achievement, improved school
attendance, stable employment, and economic mobility. 100%
of the students who participated in this program successfully
moved to the following grade level the next school year. In
addition to quantifiable outcomes, this program has improved
the quality of life for so many families that just cannot be
captured in datasets.
Among the many success stories from participating families
is one special story about a single mom whose family was
separated, due to housing instability, at the time of program
admission. Due to the support, both financial and service-
related, offered by this program, both children are now living
in the home and the mom has moved to full-time employment.
This program not only helped her obtain and afford a permanent
apartment and a stable address; but allowed for the children’s
reunification into a permanent living situation.
Santa Rosa School District
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APPENDIX I:
2018 Update: Policy Recommendations
1. Appropriate 100 percent of Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies for affordable housing.
Governor Scott’s final budget for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 redirected $182 million that was earmarked for affordable housing
to the General Fund. With an already existing affordable housing deficit, the deduction of dollars from the Affordable
Housing Trust Fund only inflamed the shortage of affordable housing options for all Floridians.
2. Continue strengthening the capacity of Homeless Continuums of Care by continuing
appropriations for CoC Lead Agency Staffing Grants and reestablishing funding for
Challenge Grants.
Although DCF was provided budget authority for the Challenge Grants for fiscal year 2018-2019, no proviso language
appeared in the budget to allow the transfer of source funding from the LGHTF. Therefore, homeless CoCs throughout the
state managed to address homelessness in their local communities with $5 million fewer resources to end homelessness in
the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
3. Embrace best practices and incentivize the use of best practices at the local level.
With already tight and exhausted budgets, plus a reduction in state funding to address homelessness in local communities,
CoCs continued to improve their homeless response systems by employing best practices when serving Floridians
experiencing homelessness. However, it is difficult to incentivize best practices when you do not have funding for activities
like training and professional development; which then prohibits the development of a robust homeless response system.
CoCs are continuing to find creative ways to achieve their mission of making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time despite
the financial obstacles.
4. Appropriate funding to match, dollar-for-dollar, the Title IX resources to the Department of
Education to fund services that assist homeless school children with priority to supplement
transportation.
Funding to match Title IX resources to ensure homeless school children have transportation available to access to
continuing education at their school of origin did not get appropriated during this legislative session. The Council will
continue advocating for funding and resources that will benefit children experiencing homelessness within our school
system.
5. Revise Florida Statutes 420.621-626.
No revisions to the Florida Statutes 420.621-626 occurred during the legislative session. The Council believes this is an
important recommendation and will continue advocating for these revisions to this State Statute in future legislative
sessions.
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 43
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APPENDIX II:
CoC Funding
Appendix II, Table 1: CoC Funding Table from Federal and State Sources
CoC #CoC Total Funding
Award
HUD
CoC
State
Total
State
Challenge
State HUD-
ESG
State
Staffing
State
TANF-HP
FL-500 Manatee
Sarasota CoC $571,234.83 -$571,234.83 $110,591.98 $317,500.00 $107,142.85 $36,000.00
FL-501 Hillsborough
CoC $6,769,376.31 $6,347,400.00 $421,976.31 $82,333.46 $232,500.00 $107,142.85 -
FL-502 Pinellas CoC $4,769,872.42 $4,129,427.00 $640,445.42 $143,385.82 $330,416.75 $107,142.85 $59,500.00
FL-503 Polk CoC $2,394,735.83 $1,974,655.00 $420,080.83 $110,591.98 $174,939.00 $107,142.85 $27,407.00
FL-504 Flagler Volusia
CoC $2,006,968.67 $1,420,440.00 $586,528.67 $143,385.82 $285,000.00 $107,142.85 $51,000.00
FL-505 Okaloosa
Walton CoC $1,307,222.12 $676,587.00 $630,635.12 $143,385.82 $350,106.45 $107,142.85 $30,000.00
FL-506
Franklin
Gadsden
Jefferson Leon
Liberty Madison
Taylor Wakulla
CoC
$1,902,618.22 $1,451,760.00 $450,858.22 $143,385.82 $170,329.55 $107,142.85 $30,000.00
FL-507 Orange Osceola
Seminole CoC $8,606,914.67 $8,069,046.00 $537,868.67 $143,385.82 $257,240.00 $107,142.85 $30,100.00
FL-508
Alachua
Bradford
Gilchrist Levy
Putnam CoC
$1,283,705.57 $703,177.00 $580,528.57 $143,385.82 $299,999.90 $107,142.85 $30,000.00
FL-509
Indian River
Martin St. Lucie
CoC
$2,388,095.15 $1,710,063.00 $678,032.15 $180,366.10 $390,523.20 $107,142.85 -
FL-510 Clay Duval
Nassau CoC $5,215,671.61 $4,659,124.00 $556,547.61 $179,904.76 $227,500.00 $107,142.85 $42,000.00
FL-511 Escambia Santa
Rosa CoC $1,477,519.20 $815,404.00 $662,115.20 $180,366.10 $332,606.25 $107,142.85 $42,000.00
FL-512 St. Johns CoC $597,783.31 $133,307.00 $464,476.31 $82,333.46 $245,000.00 $107,142.85 $30,000.00
FL-513 Brevard CoC $1,225,364.31 $742,388.00 $482,976.31 $82,333.46 $257,500.00 $107,142.85 $36,000.00
FL-514 Marion CoC $835,863.83 $292,129.00 $543,734.83 $110,591.98 $290,000.00 $107,142.85 $36,000.00
FL-515
Bay Calhoun
Gulf Holmes
Jackson
Washington
CoC
$573,914.83 $53,680.00 $520,234.83 $110,591.98 $272,500.00 $107,142.85 $30,000.00
FL-517
Desoto Glades
Hardee Hendry
Highlands
Okeechobee
CoC
$732,137.58 $184,256.00 $547,881.58 $110,591.98 $330,146.75 $107,142.85 -
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CoC #CoC Total Funding
Award
HUD
CoC
State
Total
State
Challenge
State HUD-
ESG
State
Staffing
State
TANF-HP
FL-518
Columbia
Hamilton
Lafayette
Suwanee CoC
$926,447.67 $360,919.00 $565,528.67 $143,385.82 $272,500.00 $107,142.85 $42,500.00
FL-519 Pasco CoC $1,443,578.83 $911,344.00 $532,234.83 $110,591.98 $272,500.00 $107,142.85 $42,000.00
FL-520
Citrus Hernando
Lake Sumter
CoC
$1,020,040.12 $428,405.00 $591,635.12 $143,385.82 $305,106.45 $107,142.85 $36,000.00
FL-600 Miami Dade
CoC $32,023,730.83 $31,480,996.00 $542,734.83 $110,591.98 $290,000.00 $107,142.85 $35,000.00
FL-601 Broward CoC $10,741,344.67 $10,201,816.00 $539,528.67 $143,385.82 $257,500.00 $107,142.85 $31,500.00
FL-602 Charlotte CoC $873,818.95 $258,810.00 $615,008.95 $180,366.10 $285,000.00 $107,142.85 $42,500.00
FL-603 Lee CoC $2,169,057.31 $1,835,851.00 $333,476.31 $82,333.46 $108,000.00 $107,142.85 $36,000.00
FL-604 Monroe CoC $1,204,944.15 $491,912.00 $713,032.15 $180,366.10 $390,523.20 $107,142.85 $35,000.00
FL-605 Palm Beach CoC $6,054,741.83 $5,795,007.00 $259,734.83 $110,591.98 -$107,142.85 $42,000.00
FL-606 Collier CoC $487,210.31 $297,734.00 $189,476.31 $82,333.46 -$107,142.85 -
TOTALS $99,603,913.13 $85,425,367.00 $14,178,546.13 $3,488,244.68 $6,944,937.50 $2,892,856.95 $852,507.00
State HUD-ESG = Federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding allocated to the State of Florida by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, to be used for homeless-related housing interventions, outreach, shelters, and more.
State TANF-HP = Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding that is allocated to the State of Florida,
which is utilized for Homelessness Prevention (HP) services.
State Staffing = Funding appropriated by the State of Florida legislature to build capacity in local homeless Continuums of Care
(CoCs).
State Challenge = Funding appropriated by the State of Florida legislature, and allocated from the Local and State Government
Housing Trust Fund, to provide a variety of homelessness-related services and housing.
HUD-CoC = Federal Continuum of Care funding granted to local homeless Continuums of Care (CoCs) on a competitive basis
to coordinate programs, provide housing interventions, and collect and manage data related to homelessness.
Note: State funding reflects FY2018-2019 levels. HUD-CoC funding reflects HUD-CoC awards for the 2018 competition, some of
which may not be contracted until 2019-2020.
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 45
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APPENDIX III:
Point-In-Time Count Data
Appendix III, Table 1: Total Homeless, 2015-2019
CoC #Continuum of Care (CoC) Geographic Area 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FL-500 Manatee, Sarasota Counties CoC 1,198 1,468 1,447 1,192 1,135
FL-501 Hillsborough County CoC 1,931 1,817 1,549 1,795 1,650
FL-502 Pinellas County CoC 3,387 2,777 2,831 2,612 2,415
FL-503 Polk County CoC 464 635 512 552 563
FL-504 Flagler, Volusia Counties CoC 1,325 1,005 753 683 875
FL-505 Okaloosa, Walton Counties CoC 683 629 401 495 399
FL-506 Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla Counties CoC 863 869 1,072 909 966
FL-507 Orange, Osceola, Seminole Counties CoC 2,112 1,613 2,074 2,053 2,010
FL-508 Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Putnam Counties CoC 870 844 819 756 804
FL-509 Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie Counties CoC 2,412 2,382 1,732 1,542 1,499
FL-510 Clay, Duval, Nassau Counties CoC 1,853 1,959 1,869 1,794 1,654
FL-511 Escambia, Santa Rosa Counties CoC 1,014 798 758 632 518
FL-512 St. Johns County CoC 1,161 1,064 445 342 356
FL-513 Brevard County CoC 1,072 827 845 734 815
FL-514 Marion County CoC 787 823 725 571 475
FL-515 Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington Counties CoC 317 310 336 381 488
FL-517 Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee Counties CoC 1,218 1,071 609 453 403
FL-518 Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwanee Counties CoC 1,115 1,145 502 493 538
FL-519 Pasco County CoC 1,019 1,055 2,512 1,356 894
FL-520 Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Sumter Counties CoC 731 595 635 711 677
FL-600 Miami-Dade County CoC 4,152 4,235 3,721 3,516 3,472
FL-601 Broward County CoC 2,615 2,302 2,450 2,318 2,803
FL-602 Charlotte County CoC 562 388 222 164 156
FL-603 Lee County CoC 614 439 431 728 630
FL-604 Monroe County CoC 615 575 631 973 501
FL-605 Palm Beach County CoC 1,421 1,332 1,607 1,309 1,397
FL-606 Collier County CoC 389 545 621 653 498
TOTALS 35,900 33,502 32,109 29,717 28,591
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Appendix III, Table 2: Sheltered and Unsheltered, 2019
CoC #CoC Name Sheltered Unsheltered % Unsheltered Total
FL-500 Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness 735 400 35%1,135
FL-501 Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative 978 672 41%1,650
FL-502 Pinellas County Homeless Leadership Board 1,581 834 35%2,415
FL-503 Homeless Coalition of Polk County 449 114 20%563
FL-504 Volusia/Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless 368 507 58%875
FL-505 Homelessness & Housing Alliance 165 234 59%399
FL-506 Big Bend Continuum of Care 875 91 9%966
FL-507 Homeless Services Network of Central FL 1,674 336 17%2,010
FL-508 United Way of North Central FL 302 502 62%804
FL-509 Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council 154 1,345 90%1,499
FL-510 Changing Homelessness 1,146 508 31%1,654
FL-511 Opening Doors of NWFL 341 177 34%518
FL-512 Flagler Hospital - St Augustine 156 200 56%356
FL-513 Brevard Homeless Coalition 418 397 49%815
FL-514 Marion County Homeless Council 296 179 38%475
FL-515 Doorways of NWFL 133 355 73%488
FL-517 Heartland Coalition for the Homeless 53 350 87%403
FL-518 United Way of Suwannee Valley 113 425 79%538
FL-519 Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County 206 688 77%894
FL-520 Mid FL Homeless Coalition 346 331 49%677
FL-600 Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust 2,464 1,008 29%3,472
FL-601 Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership 1,453 1,350 48%2,803
FL-602 Gulf Coast Partnership 89 67 43%156
FL-603 Lee County Human & Veteran Services 468 162 26%630
FL-604 Monroe County Homeless Services CoC 292 209 42%501
FL-605 Palm Beach County Division of Human Services 457 940 67%1,397
FL-606 Hunger & Homeless Coalition of Collier County 399 99 20%498
TOTALS 16,111 12,480 44%28,591
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 47
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Appendix III, Table 3: Homeless Population Characteristics, 2018-2019
The 27 local Continuum of Care planning agencies have reported the following information on the makeup of the homeless
population in Florida. They captured this information from direct interviews or from agency data on persons experiencing
homelessness served as entered into the HMIS. The current 2019 data is compared to reported 2018 data. Reported
characteristics are based the individuals own self-report and may not have been verified.
Gender
Gender 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
Female 12,109 38.1%10,055 35.2%
Male 18,309 61.6%18,449 65.5%
Transgender 67 0.2%67 .2%
Gender Nonconforming 34 0.1%20 .01%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
Age
Age Range 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
Under 18 5,532 18.6%4,838 16.9%
18-24 1,981 6.7%1,628 5.7%
Over 24 22,204 74.7%22,125 77.4%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
Ethnicity
Ethnicity 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
Hispanic/Latino 4,098 13.8%3,755 13.1%
Non-Hispanic/ Non-Latino 25,619 86.2%24,836 86.9%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
Race
Population Category 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
American Indian or Alaska Native 242 0.8%233 0.8%
Asian 110 0.4%109 0.4%
Black or African American 11,663 39.2%11,677 40.8%
Multiple Races 980 3.3%771 2.7%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 93 0.3%93 0.3%
White 16,629 56.0%15,708 54.9%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
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Household Composition
Household Type 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
People in households with at least one adult and one child 8,300 27.9%7,287 25.5%
People in households without children 20,973 70.6%21,048 73.6%
People in households with only children 444 1.5%256 0.9%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
Military Veterans
Served/Active Duty 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
Yes 2,515 8.5%2,384 8.3%
No 27,202 91.5%26,207 91.7%
TOTAL 29,717 100%28,591 100%
Other Characteristics
Condition 2018 Number 2018 Percentage 2019 Number 2019 Percentage
Substance Use Disorder 4,202 14.1%3,948 13.8%
Severely Mentally Ill 4,804 16.2%4,947 17.3%
HIV/AIDS 377 1.3%505 1.8%
SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1,682 5.6%2,029 7.1%
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 49
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CoC #Continuum of Care (CoC) Geographic Area 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FL-500 Manatee, Sarasota Counties CoC 219 311 285 250 246
FL-501 Hillsborough County CoC 315 254 235 262 264
FL-502 Pinellas County CoC 633 607 690 434 722
FL-503 Polk County CoC 100 88 77 84 80
FL-504 Flagler, Volusia Counties CoC 301 210 85 90 89
FL-505 Okaloosa, Walton Counties CoC 305 306 92 119 269
FL-506 Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla Counties CoC 134 81 112 151 152
FL-507 Orange, Osceola, Seminole Counties CoC 212 106 182 272 478
FL-508 Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Putnam Counties CoC 395 265 284 272 261
FL-509 Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie Counties CoC 131 77 134 64 51
FL-510 Clay, Duval, Nassau Counties CoC 353 337 286 327 301
FL-511 Escambia, Santa Rosa Counties CoC 219 216 132 78 52
FL-512 St. Johns County CoC 121 35 42 65 14
FL-513 Brevard County CoC 159 193 153 116 206
FL-514 Marion County CoC 66 201 137 173 181
FL-515 Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington Counties CoC 25 30 38 98 34
FL-517 Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee Counties CoC 227 335 283 259 235
FL-518 Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwanee Counties CoC 209 279 34 38 41
FL-519 Pasco County CoC 433 404 418 495 265
FL-520 Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Sumter Counties CoC 38 23 40 36 68
FL-600 Miami-Dade County CoC 526 472 294 384 378
FL-601 Broward County CoC 444 430 581 641 914
FL-602 Charlotte County CoC 156 76 29 45 48
FL-603 Lee County CoC 180 90 65 132 110
FL-604 Monroe County CoC 148 125 83 62 36
FL-605 Palm Beach County CoC 452 455 252 164 215
FL-606 Collier County CoC 39 73 77 119 61
TOTALS 6,540 6,079 5,120 5,230 5,771
Appendix III, Table 4: Chronic Homelessness, 2015-2019
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CoC #Continuum of Care (CoC) Geographic Area 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FL-500 Manatee, Sarasota Counties CoC 152 161 149 108 111
FL-501 Hillsborough County CoC 313 181 172 171 149
FL-502 Pinellas County CoC 589 380 329 281 316
FL-503 Polk County CoC 44 42 35 26 38
FL-504 Flagler, Volusia Counties CoC 110 36 52 44 61
FL-505 Okaloosa, Walton Counties CoC 117 37 27 30 21
FL-506 Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla Counties CoC 113 117 110 108 91
FL-507 Orange, Osceola, Seminole Counties CoC 320 231 218 181 177
FL-508 Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Putnam Counties CoC 217 123 126 114 126
FL-509 Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie Counties CoC 68 50 72 61 50
FL-510 Clay, Duval, Nassau Counties CoC 184 130 125 121 118
FL-511 Escambia, Santa Rosa Counties CoC 167 112 117 103 64
FL-512 St. Johns County CoC 24 36 40 30 25
FL-513 Brevard County CoC 193 160 187 169 182
FL-514 Marion County CoC 95 108 72 69 81
FL-515 Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington Counties CoC 40 39 34 34 54
FL-517 Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee Counties CoC 0 12 16 18 1
FL-518 Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwanee Counties CoC 139 140 43 41 29
FL-519 Pasco County CoC 114 100 215 186 92
FL-520 Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Sumter Counties CoC 62 49 57 45 57
FL-600 Miami-Dade County CoC 236 157 167 120 169
FL-601 Broward County CoC 247 210 197 189 219
FL-602 Charlotte County CoC 65 65 55 40 43
FL-603 Lee County CoC 62 19 13 18 25
FL-604 Monroe County CoC 93 87 87 67 50
FL-605 Palm Beach County CoC 157 115 65 130 30
FL-606 Collier County CoC 5 5 9 11 5
TOTALS 3,926 2,902 2,789 2,515 2,384
Appendix III, Table 5: Homelessness Among Veterans, 2015-2019
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 51
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CoC #Continuum of Care (CoC) Geographic Area 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FL-500 Manatee, Sarasota Counties CoC 220 249 245 238 160
FL-501 Hillsborough County CoC 568 533 479 602 456
FL-502 Pinellas County CoC 484 394 365 359 381
FL-503 Polk County CoC 116 218 170 198 189
FL-504 Flagler, Volusia Counties CoC 395 256 198 199 301
FL-505 Okaloosa, Walton Counties CoC 117 108 154 147 80
FL-506 Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla Counties CoC 238 234 262 269 215
FL-507 Orange, Osceola, Seminole Counties CoC 720 576 732 713 745
FL-508 Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Putnam Counties CoC 82 248 120 113 129
FL-509 Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie Counties CoC 1,113 1,457 982 688 745
FL-510 Clay, Duval, Nassau Counties CoC 499 493 425 384 289
FL-511 Escambia, Santa Rosa Counties CoC 140 183 139 165 45
FL-512 St. Johns County CoC 264 283 150 123 120
FL-513 Brevard County CoC 456 322 262 213 211
FL-514 Marion County CoC 168 173 126 129 110
FL-515 Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington Counties CoC 45 44 51 68 34
FL-517 Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee Counties CoC 598 470 232 161 161
FL-518 Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwanee Counties CoC 239 260 130 106 84
FL-519 Pasco County CoC 227 262 1,696 552 209
FL-520 Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Sumter Counties CoC 245 181 191 285 178
FL-600 Miami-Dade County CoC 1,432 1,053 1,175 1,091 1,160
FL-601 Broward County CoC 516 458 413 462 462
FL-602 Charlotte County CoC 249 165 57 34 25
FL-603 Lee County CoC 94 129 114 305 334
FL-604 Monroe County CoC 53 78 50 249 32
FL-605 Palm Beach County CoC 201 324 326 345 264
FL-606 Collier County CoC 96 207 119 102 168
TOTAL 9,575 9,358 9,363 8,300 7,287
Appendix III, Table 6: Family Homelessness: Total Persons in Families with Children, 2015-2019
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County 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 County 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Alachua 636 777 702 641 714 Lee 638 439 431 728 630
Baker N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C Leon 808 768 1,022 903 951
Bay 308 310 316 372 470 Levy 13 14 38 26 27
Bradford 0 N/C 6 33 4 Liberty 2 1 N/C N/C N/C
Brevard 1,178 827 845 734 815 Madison 1 8 N/C N/C N/C
Broward 2,624 2,302 2,450 2,318 2,803 Manatee 308 497 570 545 541
Calhoun 6 N/C 4 0 2 Marion 787 823 725 571 475
Charlotte 548 388 222 164 156 Martin 504 610 498 311 305
Citrus 180 224 175 169 262 Miami-Dade 4,152 4,235 3,721 3,516 3,472
Clay 147 76 84 62 74 Monroe 615 575 631 973 501
Collier 389 545 621 653 498 Nassau 140 99 142 92 86
Columbia 538 596 292 485 316 Okaloosa 592 464 302 322 372
DeSoto 333 270 178 104 104 Okeechobee 158 128 73 50 48
Dixie N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C Orange 1,396 1,228 1,522 1,539 1,544
Duval 1,566 1,784 1,643 1,640 1,494 Osceola 372 175 239 226 214
Escambia 884 745 693 598 504 Palm Beach 1,421 1,332 1,607 1,309 1,397
Flagler 105 104 75 62 130 Pasco 1,045 1,055 2,512 1,356 894
Franklin 23 4 N/C N/C N/C Pinellas 3,387 2,777 2,831 2,612 2,415
Gadsden 9 42 25 6 2 Polk 464 635 512 552 563
Gilchrist 0 N/C 1 0 0 Putnam 26 53 72 56 59
Glades 96 85 44 36 34 St. Johns 1,161 1,064 445 342 356
Gulf 0 N/C N/C 2 4 St. Lucie 1,096 1,016 642 784 708
Hamilton 114 114 44 N/C 45 Santa Rosa 130 53 65 34 13
Hardee 124 96 81 82 70 Sarasota 943 971 877 647 594
Hendry 138 107 61 45 45 Seminole 344 210 313 288 252
Hernando 218 143 189 182 151 Sumter 68 30 29 48 10
Highlands 483 385 172 136 102 Suwannee 350 367 142 8 150
Hillsborough 1,817 1,549 1,795 1,650 Taylor N/C 28 N/C N/C 9
Holmes 0 N/C 2 3 0 Union N/C N/C N/C N/C N/C
Indian River 812 756 592 447 486 Volusia 1,222 901 678 621 745
Jackson 3 N/C 14 2 5 Wakulla N/C 10 25 0 4
Jefferson 4 8 N/C N/C N/C Walton 91 165 99 173 27
Lafayette 68 68 24 N/C 27 Washington 0 N/C N/C 2 7
Lake 265 198 242 312 254 TOTALS 35,964 33,502 32,109 29,717 28,590
Appendix III, Table 7: Point in Time Counts by County, 2015-2019
1,931
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 53
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APPENDIX IV:
CoC Geographic Areas and Lead Agencies
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APPENDIX V:
Designated CoC Lead Agency
Contact Information
CoC #Contact Continuum of Care Counties Served
FL-500
Tara Booker
P – 941-955-8987
F – 941-209-5595
tara@suncoastpartnership.org
www.suncoastpartnership.org
Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness
1750 17th Street, Bldg. C-1
Sarasota, FL 34234
Manatee, Sarasota
FL-501
Antoinette Hayes-Triplett
P – 813-223-6115
F – 813-223-6178
tripletta@thhi.org
www.thhi.org
Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative
601 East Kennedy Boulevard
24th Floor
Tampa, FL 33602
Hillsborough
FL-502
Susan Myers
P – 727-582-7916
F – 727-528-5764
smyers@pinellasHLB.org
www.pinellasHLB.org
Pinellas County Homeless Leadership Board
647 1st Avenue, North
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Pinellas
FL-503
Laura Lee Gwinn
P – 863-687-8386
F – 863-802-1436
lgwinn@polkhomeless.org
www.polkhomeless.org
Homeless Coalition of Polk County
328 W Highland Drive
Lakeland, FL 33813
Polk
FL-504
Jeff White
P – 386-279-0029
F – 386-279-0028
jwhite@vfcch.org
www.vfcch.org
Volusia/Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 309
Daytona Beach, FL 32115-0390
Physical Address:
324 North Street
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Volusia, Flagler
FL-505
Sarah Yelverton
P – 850-362-7429
sarah@hhalliance.org
www.hhalliance.org
Homelessness and Housing Alliance
P.O. Box 115
Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32549
Okaloosa, Walton
2019 ANNUAL REPORT 55
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CoC #Contact Continuum of Care Counties Served
FL-506
Amanda Wander
P – 850-792-5015
F – 850-488-1616
awander@bigbendcoc.org
www.bigbendcoc.org
Apalachee Regional Planning Council
2507 Callaway Road, Suite 200
Tallahassee, FL 32303
Franklin, Gadsden,
Jefferson, Leon, Liberty,
Madison, Taylor,
Wakulla
FL-507
Martha Are
P – 407-893-0133
F – 407-893-5299
martha.are@hsncfl.org
www.hsncfl.org
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida
4065 L.B. McLeod Road Unit 4065-D
Orlando, FL 32811
Orange, Osceola,
Seminole
FL-508
Mona Gil de Gibaja
P – 352-331-2800
mgildegibaja@unitedwayncfl.org
www.unitedwayncfl.org
United Way of North Central Florida
6031 NW 1st Place
Gainesville, FL 32607
Alachua, Bradford,
Gilchrist, Levy, Putnam
FL-509
Louise Hubbard
P – 772-567-7790
F – 772-567-5991
irhsclh@aol.com
www.tchelpspot.org
Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council
2525 St. Lucie Avenue
Vero Beach, FL 32960
Indian River, Martin, St.
Lucie
FL-510
Dawn Gilman
P – 904-354-1100
F – 866-371-8637
dgilman@changinghomelessness.org
www.changinghomelessness.org
Changing Homelessness
660 Park Street
Jacksonville, FL 32204 Clay, Duval, Nassau
FL-511
John Johnson
P – 850-439-3009, ext. 106
F – 850-436-4656
johnj@openingdoorsnwfl.org
www.openingdoorsNWFL.org
Opening Doors Northwest Florida
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 17222
Pensacola, FL 32522
Physical Address:
3702 N. Pace Boulevard
Pensacola, FL 32505
Escambia, Santa Rosa
FL-512
John Eaton
P – 904-819-4425
John.eaton@flaglerhospital.org
Flagler Hospital
400 Health Park Boulevard
St. Augustine, FL 32086
St. Johns
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CoC #Contact Continuum of Care Counties Served
FL-513
Miriam Moore
P – 321-652-2737
miriam@brevardhomelesscoalition.org
www.brevardhomelesscoalition.org
Brevard Homeless Coalition
c/o Space Coast Health Foundation
6905 N Wickham Road, Suite 301
Melbourne, FL 32940
Brevard
FL-514
Angela Juaristic
P – 352-732-1380
F – 352-622-2975
angela@mchcfl.org
www.mchcfl.org
Marion County Homeless Council
108 N. Magnolia Avenue, Suite 202
Ocala, FL 34475
Marion
FL-515
Yvonne Petrasovits
P – 850-481-5446
director@doorwaysnwfl.org
www.doorwaysnwfl.org
Doorways of NWFL
P.O. Box 549
Panama City, FL 32402-0549
Bay, Calhoun, Gulf,
Holmes, Jackson,
Washington
FL-517
Brenda Gray
P – 863-453-8901 or 863/657-2637
F – 863-453-8903
Brenda.gray@heartlandhomeless.com
www.heartlandhomeless.com
Heartland Coalition for the Homeless
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1023
Avon Park, FL 33826-1023
Physical Address:
752 U.S. Highway 27 North
Avon Park, FL 33825
DeSoto, Glades, Hardee,
Hendry, Highlands,
Okeechobee
FL-518
Jennifer Anchors
P – 386-752-5604
F – 386-752-0105
Jen@unitedwaysuwanneevalley.org
www.unitedwsv.org
United Way of Suwannee Valley
871 SW State Road 47
Lake City, FL 32025-0433
Columbia, Hamilton,
Lafayette, Suwannee
FL-519
Don Anderson
P – 727-842-8605
F – 727-842-8538
don@pascohomelesscoalition.org
www.pascohomelesscoalition.org
Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County
5652 Pine Street
New Port Richey, FL 34655
Pasco
FL-520
Barbara Wheeler
P – 352-860-2308
F – 352-600-3374
mfhc01@gmail.com
www.midfloridahomeless.org
Mid Florida Homeless Coalition
104 E Dampier Street
Inverness, FL 34450
Citrus, Hernando, Lake,
Sumter
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CoC #Contact Continuum of Care Counties Served
FL-600
Victoria Mallette
P – 305-375-1491
F – 305-375-2722
vmallette@miamidade.gov
www.homelesstrust.org
Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust
111 NW 1st Street, Suite 27-310
Miami, FL 33128
Miami-Dade
FL-601
Rebecca Mcguire
P – 954-357-5686
F – 954-357-5521
RMcguire@broward.org
www.broward.org/homeless
Broward County Homeless Initiative Partnership
115 S. Andrews Avenue., Room A-370
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
Broward
FL-602
Angela Hogan
P – 941-626-0220
F – 941-347-8154
ahogan@gulfcoastpartnership.org
www.gulfcoastpartnership.org
Gulf Coast Partnership
408 Tamiami Trail, Unit 121
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Charlotte
FL-603
Jeannie Sutton
P – 239-533-7958
F – 239-533-7955
jsutton@leegov.com
www.leehomeless.org
Lee County Human & Veteran Services
2440 Thompson Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901 Lee
FL-604
Mark Lenkner
P – 305-440-2315
mark.lenkner@monroehomelesscoc.org
www.monroehomelesscoc.org
Monroe County Homeless Services CoC
P.O. Box 2410
Key West, FL 33045 Monroe
FL-605
Sonya McNair
P – 561- 355-4772
F – 561-355-4801
smcnair@pbcgov.org
www.homelesscoalitionpbc.org
Palm Beach County Division of Human Services
810 Datura Street, Suite 350
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Palm Beach
FL-606
Christine Welton
P – 239-263-9363
F – 239-263-6058
executivedirector@collierhomelesscoalition.org
www.collierhomelesscoalition.org
Hunger & Homeless Coalition of Collier County
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 9202
Naples, FL 34101
Physical Address:
3510 Kraft Road, Suite 200
Naples, FL 34105
Collier
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APPENDIX VI:
Homeless Students in Public Schools
Appendix VI, Table 1: FDOE Reported Homeless Students, 2017-2018
District
Number District Name
Living Situation at the Time the Student
Was Identified as Homeless Total
Homeless
Total Non-
Homeless
Unaccompanied
Youth
Shelters Sharing
Housing Other Motels
01 Alachua 113 797 33 78 1,021 30,335 68
02 Baker <11 87 <11 <11 97 5,299 <11
03 Bay 50 1,243 61 169 1,523 28,741 135
04 Bradford 0 134 <11 15 155 3,571 <11
05 Brevard 206 2,065 110 382 2,763 76,267 227
06 Broward 449 3,637 241 576 4,903 284,248 335
07 Calhoun 0 72 <11 0 73 2,416 <11
08 Charlotte 28 321 13 73 435 16,923 57
09 Citrus 79 520 38 32 669 16,945 58
10 Clay 42 602 19 65 728 39,816 93
11 Collier 137 1,085 50 95 1,367 48,326 341
12 Columbia 79 498 25 69 671 10,441 31
13 Miami-Dade 1,864 6,453 241 399 8,957 366,359 349
14 Desoto <11 122 <11 0 134 5,298 <11
15 Dixie 0 75 <11 <11 80 2,306 <11
16 Duval 436 4,848 43 490 5,817 139,251 675
17 Escambia 166 1,591 13 139 1,909 41,400 94
18 Flagler 21 448 23 37 529 13,783 41
19 Franklin <11 262 19 <11 290 1,212 37
20 Gadsden <11 268 <11 <11 287 5,809 <11
21 Gilchrist 0 <11 <11 <11 13 2,947 <11
22 Glades <11 32 <11 0 39 1,938 <11
23 Gulf 0 13 0 <11 16 2,145 <11
24 Hamilton <11 312 <11 20 335 1,485 <11
25 Hardee <11 120 15 <11 147 5,626 <11
26 Hendry 130 1,054 22 25 1,231 7,216 50
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District
Number District Name
Living Situation at the Time the Student
Was Identified as Homeless Total
Homeless
Total Non-
Homeless
Unaccompanied
Youth
Shelters Sharing
Housing Other Motels
27 Hernando 34 516 29 76 653 23,911 93
28 Highlands 44 550 23 34 651 12,953 <11
29 Hillsborough 424 3,705 111 619 4,865 235,961 340
30 Holmes 0 70 0 <11 71 3,587 <11
31 Indian River 74 265 12 65 416 18,751 6
32 Jackson 0 131 14 13 158 7,035 22
33 Jefferson 0 35 <11 0 38 880 <11
34 Lafayette <11 90 104 0 198 1,120 <11
35 Lake 103 1,959 42 165 2,269 45,398 115
36 Lee 239 1,360 75 397 2,071 100,527 54
37 Leon 178 516 20 76 790 35,995 127
38 Levy 22 183 <11 <11 210 5,961 <11
39 Liberty 0 25 <11 0 29 1,656 <11
40 Madison 0 79 89 <11 169 2,857 <11
41 Manatee 133 1,348 45 153 1,679 50,671 195
42 Marion 166 2,104 46 333 2,649 46,356 551
43 Martin 106 330 17 29 482 20,160 69
44 Monroe 90 367 81 158 696 8,783 33
45 Nassau 29 433 50 31 543 12,137 126
46 Okaloosa 107 279 16 47 449 34,959 52
47 Okeechobee <11 508 <11 <11 520 6,768 12
48 Orange 314 7,247 130 2,001 9,692 211,757 421
48D Ucp Charter <11 12 0 <11 17 890 0
49 Osceola 98 3,878 97 1,139 5,212 70,623 57
50 Palm Beach 389 3,427 236 355 4,407 199,624 310
50D Southtech <11 <11 0 0 11 1,662 0
51 Pasco 247 1,680 88 217 2,232 77,893 356
52 Pinellas 616 2,959 98 560 4,233 107,514 518
53 Polk 246 3,493 164 723 4,626 104,818 434
53D Lake Wales <11 194 50 22 273 4,141 34
54 Putnam 64 483 39 48 634 11,488 149
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District
Number District Name
Living Situation at the Time the Student
Was Identified as Homeless Total
Homeless
Total Non-
Homeless
Unaccompanied
Youth
Shelters Sharing
Housing Other Motels
55 St. Johns 104 639 34 95 872 42,810 216
56 St. Lucie 72 1,274 44 195 1,585 42,125 135
57 Santa Rosa 24 932 31 47 1,034 28,736 89
58 Sarasota 152 590 14 76 832 45,554 98
59 Seminole 83 1,806 32 347 2,268 71,655 137
60 Sumter <11 118 <11 21 148 9,407 <11
61 Suwannee 16 242 <11 21 285 6,657 28
62 Taylor <11 98 18 <11 124 2,981 15
63 Union <11 94 <11 0 98 2,483 <11
64 Volusia 166 2,207 60 285 2,718 67,383 295
65 Wakulla 0 78 <11 <11 83 5,470 <11
66 Walton <11 319 16 <11 346 10,170 24
67 Washington <11 186 <11 <11 197 3,671 15
68 Deaf/Blind 0 16 <11 0 17 591 0
71 FL Virtual <11 49 <11 31 89 8,070 <11
72 FSU Lab Sch <11 21 <11 <11 24 2,558 <11
73 FSU Lab Sch <11 <11 0 0 <11 2,448 0
74 FAMU Lab Sch <11 <11 0 0 <11 608 0
75 UF Lab Sch 0 0 0 0 0 1,202 0
STATE TOTAL 8,202 73,584 2,966 11,108 95,860 2,981,518 7,844
% OF TOTAL 8.6%76.8%3.1%11.6%% OF TOTAL STUDENTS
WHO ARE HOMELESS: 3.1%8.2%
LEGEND
Shelters Living in emergency or transitional shelters
Sharing Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; “doubled-up”
Unsheltered Living in cars, parks, campgrounds, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
Motels Living in hotels or motels
AFC Awaiting foster care placement (this category was dropped from the Federal definition of homelessness on 12/15/2016)
UHY Homeless AND NOT in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian, i.e., an Unaccompanied Homeless (Child or) Youth
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District 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Alachua 809 683 785 840 1,021
Baker 112 93 41 11 97
Bay 1,184 1,437 1,506 1,583 1,523
Bradford 194 254 212 180 155
Brevard 1,690 1,845 1,973 2,262 2,763
Broward 2,323 2,270 2,262 2,742 4,903
Calhoun 60 76 99 71 73
Charlotte 519 508 436 458 435
Citrus 312 341 600 592 669
Clay 1,110 1,102 840 557 728
Collier 849 779 808 900 1,367
Columbia 549 588 553 504 671
Miami-Dade 3,252 4,031 6,103 8,046 8,957
Desoto 402 368 329 263 134
Dixie 28 62 44 67 80
Duval 2,111 2,163 2,256 3,348 5,817
Escambia 2,054 1,938 1,869 1,618 1,909
Flagler 522 616 509 550 529
Franklin 279 225 268 286 290
Gadsden 699 529 519 307 287
Gilchrist 14 <11 <11 <11 13
Glades 24 61 63 49 39
Gulf 20 15 16 <11 16
Hamilton 234 251 335 364 335
Hardee 125 200 192 160 147
Hendry 450 309 424 545 1,231
Hernando 443 585 522 612 653
Highlands 461 461 461 492 651
Hillsborough 3,233 3,813 3,316 3,210 4,859
Holmes 102 104 94 76 71
Appendix VI, Table 2: FDOE Reported Homeless Students, 2013-2018
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District 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Indian River 434 360 311 302 416
Jackson 113 143 140 124 158
Jefferson <11 <11 <11 <11 38
Lafayette 207 208 199 166 198
Lake 3,229 2,416 2,433 2,395 2,269
Lee 1,313 1,256 1,293 1,499 2,071
Leon 702 797 866 866 790
Levy 157 216 190 227 210
Liberty 52 50 47 25 29
Madison 534 244 150 159 169
Manatee 1,854 1,864 1,581 1,907 1,679
Marion 2,373 2,685 2,494 2,426 2,649
Martin 157 179 265 477 482
Monroe 382 456 387 360 696
Nassau 428 484 445 566 543
Okaloosa 533 487 849 686 449
Okeechobee 573 468 375 487 520
Orange 6,736 6,800 6,853 6,130 9,692
Ucp Charter <11 17
Osceola 4,941 4,675 3,562 3,341 5,212
Palm Beach 2,991 3,750 3,759 4,311 4,407
Southtech 12 11
Pasco 2,071 2,190 2,092 1,976 2,232
Pinellas 3,038 3,764 3,509 4,019 4,233
Polk 3,767 3,389 3,856 3,331 4,626
Lake Wales 246 258 705 236 273
Putnam 808 674 275 701 634
St. Johns 803 809 816 886 872
St. Lucie 543 650 718 742 1,585
Santa Rosa 1,776 1,696 1,312 1,101 1,034
Appendix VI, Table 2: FDOE Reported Homeless Students, 2013-2018
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District 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
Sarasota 924 884 867 794 832
Seminole 2,034 1,992 1,898 1,539 2,268
Sumter 174 153 144 144 148
Suwannee 298 354 355 469 285
Taylor 123 94 127 126 124
Union 130 121 116 68 98
Volusia 2,261 2,322 2,171 2,318 2,718
Wakulla 56 40 54 61 83
Walton 313 294 241 218 346
Washington 138 190 200 199 197
Deaf/Blind 12 20 16 18 17
FLVirtual 34 61 98 60 89
FAU Lab Sch <11 <11 <11 <11 24
FSU Lab Sch <11 <11 0 <11 <11
FAMU Lab Sch 11 <11 <11 19 <11
UF Lab Sch 0 0 0 0 0
STATE TOTAL 71,446 73,229 72,957 76,211 95,860
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Agency Represented By
Agency for Health Care Administration Molly McKinstry
CareerSource Florida, Inc.Warren Davis
Department of Children and Families Ute Gazioch
Department of Corrections Cassandra Moore
Department of Economic Opportunity Isabelle Potts
Department of Education Skip Forsyth
Department of Health Patricia Boswell
Department of Veterans’ Affairs Alene Tarter
Florida Association of Counties Claudia Tuck
Florida Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.Daniel Ramos
Florida Housing Finance Corporation Bill Aldinger
Florida League of Cities Rick Butler
Florida Supportive Housing Coalition Shannon Nazworth
Ex-Officio Appointees Represented By
Children’s Home Society Pensacola Lindsey Cannon
US Department of Veteran Affairs Nikki Barfield
Governor’s Appointees
Andrae Bailey
Steve Smith
APPENDIX VII:
Council on Homelessness Members
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Federal Definition of Homeless (24 CFR 578.3)
Homeless means:
(1) An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, meaning:
(i) An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed
for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park,
abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
(ii) An individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide
temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels
paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, State, or local government programs for low-income
individuals); or
(iii) An individual who is exiting an institution where he or she resided for 90 days or less and who resided
in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that
institution;
(1) An individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, provided that:
(i) The primary nighttime residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless
assistance;
(ii) No subsequent residence has been identified; and
(iii) The individual or family lacks the resources or support networks, e.g. family, friends, faith-based or other
social networks, needed to obtain other permanent housing;
(1) Unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age, or families with children and youth, who do not otherwise qualify as
homeless under this definition, but who:
(i) Are defined as homeless under section 387 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5732a),
section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832), section 41403 of the Violence Against Women Act of
1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e-2), section 330(h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(h)), section 3
of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012), section 17(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1786(b)), or section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a);
(ii) Have not had a lease, ownership interest, or occupancy agreement in permanent housing at any time
during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of application for homeless assistance;
(iii) Have experienced persistent instability as measured by two moves or more during the 60-day period
immediately preceding the date of applying for homeless assistance; and can be expected to continue
in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities; chronic physical health
or mental health conditions; substance addiction; histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse
APPENDIX VIII:
Definitions of Homeless
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(including neglect); the presence of a child or youth with a disability; or two or more barriers to
employment, which include the lack of a high school degree or General Education Development (GED),
illiteracy, low English proficiency, a history of incarceration or detention for criminal activity, and a history
of unstable employment; or
(1) Any individual or family who:
(i) Is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other
dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a family member,
including a child, that has either taken place within the individual’s or family’s primary nighttime residence
or has made the individual or family afraid to return to their primary nighttime residence;
(ii) Has no other residence; and
(iii) Lacks the resources or support networks, e.g. family, friends, and faith-based or other social networks, to
obtain other permanent housing.
State of Florida Definition of Homeless (F.S. 420.621(5))
“Homeless,” applied to an individual, or “individual experiencing homelessness” means an individual who lacks a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes an individual who:
a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
b) Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
accommodations;
c) Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
d) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a
regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
e) Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
f) Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless because he or she is living in circumstances described in
paragraphs (a)-(e).
The terms do not refer to an individual imprisoned pursuant to state or federal law or to individuals or families who
are sharing housing due to cultural preferences, voluntary arrangements, or traditional networks of support. The terms
include an individual who has been released from jail, prison, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a
mental health and developmental disability facility, a residential addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom
no subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the resources and support network to obtain housing.
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Affordable Housing – In general, housing for which the
tenants are paying no more than 30% of their income
for housing costs, including utilities. Affordable housing
may either be subsidized housing or unsubsidized market
housing. A special type of affordable housing for people with
disabilities who need services along with affordable housing is
“Permanent Supportive Housing.”
Area Median Income (AMI) – The household in a certain
region that is in the exact middle in terms of income
compared to other households will set the AMI for their
region (the household size is a factor taken into account; there
are different AMIs for households of different sizes in the
same region). This number is calculated every year by HUD.
HUD focuses on a region, rather than a single city, because
families and individuals are likely to look outside of cities to
surrounding areas when searching for a place to live.
Chronically Homeless – In general, a household that has
been continually homeless for over a year, or one that has
had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three
years, where the combined lengths of homelessness of those
episodes is at least one year, and in which the individual has a
disabling condition.
Continuum of Care (CoC) – A local geographic area
designated by HUD and served by a local planning body,
which is responsible for organizing and delivering housing
and services to meet the needs of people who are homeless as
they move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency.
The terms “CoC Governing Body” or “CoC Board” have
the same meanings. In some contexts, the term “continuum
of care” is also sometimes used to refer to the system of
programs addressing homelessness. The geographic areas for
the Florida CoCs are provided in Appendix VI.
CoC Lead Agency – The local organization or entity that
implements the work and policies directed by the CoC. In
Florida, there are 27 CoC Lead Agencies, serving 64 of 67
Florida counties. The CoC Lead Agency typically serves as
the “Collaborative Applicant,” which submits annual funding
requests for HUD CoC Program funding on behalf of the
CoC. The contacts for the CoC Lead Agencies are provided in
Appendix VII.
Coordinated Entry System – A standardized community-
wide process to perform outreach and identify homeless
households, enter their information into HMIS, use common
tools to assess their needs, and prioritize access to housing
interventions and services to end their homelessness.
Sometimes referred to as a “triage system” or “coordinated
intake and assessment.”
Council on Homelessness – The Council on Homelessness
was created in 2001 to develop policies and recommendations
to reduce homelessness in Florida. The Council’s mission is
to develop and coordinate policy to reduce the prevalence
and duration of homelessness, and work toward ending
homelessness in Florida.
Diversion – A strategy that prevents homelessness for people
seeking shelter by helping them stay housed where they
currently are or by identifying immediate alternate housing
arrangements and, if necessary, connecting them with services
and financial assistance to help them return to permanent
housing. This strategy is used in order to keep individuals
from entering the homelessness system in their county.
Effectively End Homelessness – Effectively ending
homelessness means that the community has a
comprehensive response in place to ensure that homelessness
is prevented whenever possible, or if it cannot be prevented, it
is a rare, brief, and non-recurring phenomenon. Specifically,
the community will have the capacity to: (1) quickly
identify and engage people at risk of or already experiencing
homelessness; (2) intervene to prevent the loss of housing and
divert people from entering the homelessness services system;
and (3) when homelessness does occur, provide immediate
access to shelter and crisis services, without barriers to entry,
while permanent stable housing and appropriate supports
are being secured, and quickly connect people to housing
assistance and services—tailored to their unique needs and
strengths—to help them achieve and maintain stable housing.
(Source: USICH)
Emergency Shelter – A facility operated to provide
temporary shelter for people who are homeless. HUD’s
guidance is that the lengths of stay in emergency shelter prior
to moving into permanent housing should not exceed 30
days.
Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) – HUD funding that
flows through state and certain local governments for street
outreach, emergency shelters, rapid re-housing, homelessness
prevention, and certain HMIS costs.
Extremely Low-Income (ELI) – Household income that is 30
percent or less of the AMI of the community.
APPENDIX IX:
Glossary
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Florida Housing Finance Corporation – Florida Housing
was created by the Florida Legislature more than 25 years
ago to help Floridians obtain safe, decent, affordable housing
that might otherwise be unavailable to them. The corporation
provides funds for the development of housing.
The Homeless Emergency and Rapid Transition to
Housing (HEARTH) Act – Federal legislation that, in 2009,
amended and reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act. The HEARTH/McKinney Vento Act provides
federal funding for homeless programs, including the HUD
ESG funds and the HUD CoC Grant funding.
Homeless – There are varied definitions of homelessness.
Generally, “homeless” means lacking a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence and living in temporary
accommodations (e.g., shelter) or in places not meant for
human habitation. Households fleeing domestic violence and
similar threatening conditions are also considered homeless.
For purposes of certain programs and funding, families with
minor children who are doubled-up with family or friends
for economic reasons may also be considered homeless, as are
households at imminent risk of homelessness. See Appendix
IX.
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) – A
web-based software solution and database tool designed
to capture and analyze client-level information including
the characteristics, service needs, and use of services by
persons experiencing homelessness. HMIS is an important
component of an effective Coordinated Entry System, CoC
planning efforts, and performance evaluation based on
program outcomes.
Homelessness Prevention – Short-term financial assistance,
sometimes with support services, for households at imminent
risk of homelessness and who have no other resources to
prevent homelessness. For many programs, the household
must also be extremely low income, with income at or less
than 30% AMI, to receive such assistance.
Housing or Permanent Housing – Any housing arrangement
in which the person/tenant can live indefinitely, as long as the
rent is paid and lease terms are followed. Temporary living
arrangements and programs – such as emergency shelters,
transitional programs, and rehabilitation programs – do not
meet the definition of housing.
Housing First Approach – An approach to ending
homelessness that centers on providing people experiencing
homelessness with housing as quickly as possible and, once
the person is housed, then providing services to help the
person remain stably housed. This approach is consistent with
what most people experiencing homelessness need and want.
Housing first is recognized as an evidence-based best practice,
is cost effective, and results in better outcomes as compared to
other approaches. The Florida Legislature encourages CoCs to
adopt the housing first approach to reduce homelessness.
Housing Trust Funds – Florida’s Sadowski Act Trust Fund
receives funding from dedicated revenue from real estate
doc stamps. In Florida, the Housing Trust Funds are used
for affordable housing when appropriated for that use by the
State Legislature. Housing Trust Funds may also be funded by
general revenue and government bonds.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) – HUD provides funding to states and local
communities to address homelessness. In addition, this
department supports fair housing, community development,
and affordable housing, among other issues.
HUD CoC Funding – Funding administered by HUD through
local CoC Collaborative Applicant (i.e., CoC Lead Agency)
entities. Eligible uses for new projects include permanent
supportive housing, rapid re-housing, coordinated entry,
HMIS, and CoC planning.
Office on Homelessness – Created in 2001, the Office on
Homelessness was established as a central point of contact
within state government on matters related to homelessness.
The Office coordinates the services of the various state
agencies and programs to serve individuals or families who
are homeless or are facing homelessness. Office staff work
with the Council on Homelessness to develop state policy.
The Office also manages targeted state grants to support the
implementation of local homeless service CoC plans. The
Office is responsible for coordinating resources and programs
across all levels of government, and with private providers
that serve people experiencing homelessness.
Outreach – A necessary homeless system component
that involves interacting with unsheltered people who are
homeless in whatever location they naturally stay (e.g., in
campsites, on the streets), building trust, and offering access
to appropriate housing interventions.
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Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) – Safe and affordable
housing for people with disabling conditions, legal tenancy
housing rights, and access to individualized support
services. PSH that is funded through HUD CoC funding
should prioritize people who are chronically homeless with
the longest terms of homelessness and the highest level of
vulnerability/acuity in terms of health issues and service
needs.
Point in Time (PIT) Count – HUD requires CoCs to count
the number of people experiencing homelessness in their
geographic area through the Point in Time (PIT) Count on a
given day. Conducted by most CoCs during the last ten days
in January, the PIT Count includes people served in shelter
programs every year, with every other year also including
people who are un-sheltered. Data collected during the PIT
Counts is critical to effective planning and performance
management toward the goal of ending homelessness for
each community and for the nation as a whole. A one-night
snapshot of homelessness in a specific geographic area, the
PIT Count data are presented in Appendix II.
Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) – A housing intervention designed
to move a household into perma-nent housing (e.g., a
rental unit) as quickly as possible, ideally within 30 days of
identification. Rapid Re-Housing typically provides (1) help
identifying appropriate housing; (2) financial assistance
(deposits and short-term or medium-term rental assistance
for 1-24 months), and (3) support services as long as needed
and desired, up to a certain limit.
Services or Support Services – A wide range of services
designed to address issues negatively affecting a person’s
quality of life, stability, and/or health. Examples include
behavioral health counseling or treatment for mental
health and/or substance abuse issues, assistance increasing
income through employment or disability assistance,
financial education, assistance with practical needs such as
transportation or housekeeping, and connections to other
critical resources such as primary health care.
Sheltered/Unsheltered Homelessness – People who are
in temporary shelters, including emergency shelter and
transitional shelters, are considered “sheltered.” People
who are living outdoors or in places not meant for human
habitation are considered “unsheltered.”
Transitional Program – A temporary shelter program
that allows for moderate stays (3-24 months) and provides
support services. Based on research on the efficacy and costs
of this model, this type of program should be a very limited
component of the housing crisis response system, due to the
relative costliness of the programs in the absence of outcomes
that exceed rapid re-housing outcomes. Transitional housing
should be used only for specific subpopulations such as
transition-age youth, where research has shown it is more
effective than other interventions.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
(USICH) – A federal Council that co-ordinates the federal
response to homelessness, working in partnership with
Cabinet Secretaries and senior leaders from nineteen federal
member agencies.
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1. 2019 Rental Market Study. Shimberg Center for Housing
Studies, University of Florida. Available at https://
www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/press/
newsroom/publications/rental-housing/2019-rental-
market-study.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=eadc107b_2
2. National Low Income Housing Coalition, Gap Report
2018. Available at https://reports.nlihc.org/sites/
default/files/gap/Gap-Report_2018.pdf
3. Sadowski Coalition, Economic Impact. Available at
https://www.sadowskicoalition.org/facts/
4. Sadowski Coalition, Economic Impact. Available at
https://www.sadowskicoalition.org/facts/
5. The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid
Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 is the
primary federal law governing federal programs related
to homelessness. The HEARTH Act amended and
reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, the initial overarching federal homelessness
legislation. The provisions of the HEARTH Act
provisions are reflected in 24 CFR 578 and other federal
statutes. See https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?S
ID=3df665d3a56051e56eb5ad7700137087&mc=true
&node=pt24.3.578&rgn=div5
6. The terms “CoC Lead Agency” and “Collaborative
Applicant” are often used interchangeably in Florida.
The Collaborative Applicant is the CoC-designated
organization, sometimes called the CoC Lead Agency,
that submits funding proposals to HUD on behalf of the
CoC. A Collaborative Applicant may be either a local
government or a local non-profit organization. Further,
in most communities the Lead Agency also assumes
the responsibilities of the local “Homeless Coalition”
described in State Statute, but in some communities
these responsibilities are divided between different
entities. See F.S. 420.623 and 420.624. Available at
http://leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_
mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-
0499/0420/0420PARTVIContentsIndex.html
7. Shinn, Gregory A. “The Cost of Long-Term
Homelessness in Central Florida.” Central Florida
Commission on Homelessness. 2014. Available at
https://shnny.org/uploads/Florida-Homelessness-
Report-2014.pdf
8. National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Rapid
ReHousing: A History and Core Components.” 2014.
Available at https://endhomelessness.org/resource/
rapid-re-housing-a-history-and-core-components/
9. National Health Care for the Homeless, Supplemental
Guidance for Children and Adolescence Experiencing
Homelessness. Available at https://www.nhchc.org/
wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-supplemental-
anticipatory-guidance.pdf
10. It is estimated that there are 784,558 adults with serious
mental illnesses in Florida. (Source: Florida Department
of Children and Families. “Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Plan 2014-2016.” 2013. Available at
https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/
samh/publications/docs/2014-2016%20SAMH%20
Services%20Plan.pdf
11. 2019 Rental Market Study. Shimberg Center for Housing
Studies, University of Florida. Available at https://
www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/press/
newsroom/publications/rental-housing/2019-rental-
market-study.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=eadc107b_2
12. Florida Housing Coalition. “Home Matters.” 2019.
Available at http://www.flhousing.org/wp-content/
uploads/2019/03/Home-Matters-Report-2019-WEB.
pdf
13. Social Security Administration. Fact Sheet: 2019 Social
Security Changes, Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
Available at https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/
factsheets/colafacts2019.pdf
14. National Low Income Housing Coalition. Out of Reach
2018. Available at https://reports.nlihc.org/oor/florida
15. The United Way. Asset Limited Income Constrained,
Employed (ALICE) Report 2018. Available at http://
www.uwof.org/sites/uwof.org/files/2018%20FL%20
ALICE%20REPORT%20AND%20CO%20PAGES.pdf
16. In 2007, 62% of personal bankruptcies were caused by
medical debt. See study cited in National Health Care for
the Homeless Council. “Homelessness & Health: What’s
the Connection?” 2011. Available at https://www.
nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Hln_health_
factsheet_Jan10.pdf
APPENDIX X:
References
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17. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
Home, Together: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent
and End Homelessness. Available at https://www.
usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/Home-
Together-Federal-Strategic-Plan-to-Prevent-and-End-
Homelessness.pdf
18. HUD.gov, Fact Sheet: Housing Choice Voucher
Program, Family Unification Program. Available at
https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/FUP_FACT_
SHEET.PDF
19. 2019 Rental Market Study. Shimberg Center for Housing
Studies, University of Florida. Available at https://
www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/press/
newsroom/publications/rental-housing/2019-rental-
market-study.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=eadc107b_2
20. HUD.gov, “HUD Awards $99 Million to Provide
Affordable Housing to People with Disabilities.”
Available at https://www.hud.gov/press/press_
releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_18_094
21. www.flgov.com, Governor Ron DeSantis Announces
Forward March Initiative with the Florida Department
of Veterans’ Affairs. Available at https://www.flgov.
com/2019/03/29/governor-ron-desantis-announces-
forward-march-initiative-with-the-florida-department-
of-veterans-affairs/
22. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness,
Communities that have Veteran Ended Homelessness.
Available at https://www.usich.gov/communities-
that-have-ended-homelessness
23. Changing Homelessness, Homes for Our Brave SSVF
Program. Available at http://changinghomelessness.
org/homesforourbrave/
24. Florida Housing Finance Corporation, Low Barrier Entry
Workgroup: Proposed Standards and Processes that
Lower Barriers to Rental Housing Entry. Available at
http://www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/
programs/developers-multifamily-programs/2018-
2019-rfa-comments/proposed-standards-and-
processes-that-lower-barriers-to-rental-housing-entry.
pdf?sfvrsn=2892317b_2
25. Jacksonville Business Journal. Report: Permanent
Housing for Homeless Saves Jacksonville Taxpayers
Money. Available at https://www.bizjournals.com/
jacksonville/news/2018/11/30/report-permanent-
housing-for-homeless-saves.html
26. Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965. Available at https://www.
gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s1177enr/pdf/BILLS-
114s1177enr.pdf
27. Florida Department of Education, Strategic Plan.
Available at http://www.fldoe.org/policy/state-board-
of-edu/strategic-plan.stml
28. Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, University of
Florida and Miami Homes for All. “Homelessness
and Education in Florida: Impacts on Children and
Youth.” Available at http://www.shimberg.ufl.edu/
publications/homeless_education_fla171010_RGB.pdf
29. Florida Department of Education, Title IX: Homeless
Education Program (HEP) http://www.fldoe.org/
policy/federal-edu-programs/title-x-homeless-edu-
program-hep.stml
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