Don Anderson, the new chief executive officer for The Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County, doesn’t have to look far to understand what it’s like to experience poverty.
“I come from very humble beginnings. My dad didn’t finish eighth grade. My mom didn’t finish high school. He worked three jobs.
“We had a hard time keeping a car going, let alone pay the rent every month.
“I remember sitting around the table with them at the end of every month, deciding who it is that we would not pay, so we could pay the rent every month.
“We relied on the church and food stamps, and just the generosity of others,” Anderson said.
And, he knows his experiences are far more common than people think.
For many — just a single incident such as a medical issue, a car accident, a car breaking down or the loss of a job — can push them into homelessness, he said. That’s particularly true in communities, such as Pasco County, where much of the workforce receives minimum wage earnings from service industry jobs, he added.
While Anderson’s background didn’t prevent him from landing work with technology companies, he said he experienced his share of ups and downs through the years.
At one point, at the encouragement of one of his customers, he volunteered for Metropolitan Ministries. Later, when he was in his 50s, he got a job there.
A couple of years ago, he went to work for Youth and Family Alternatives in Pasco, where he was the vice president of strategy and development.
He said he sought his current post because he wanted an opportunity to take on a greater leadership role.
Being new to that post, Anderson said he has much to learn. He plans to do a lot of listening, and a lot of reaching out.
He said he wants to make internal improvements to the organization he’s leading, but also wants to forge stronger relationships with people in the community who may have felt alienated in the past.
One of the biggest developments on the horizon is the effort to open Pasco County’s first homeless shelter as part of a comprehensive plan to help the county’s homeless population.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has estimated there are about 100 camps across Pasco County where people live.
The chosen location for what is proposed as a “one-stop navigation center” is in two county-owned buildings in west Pasco, formerly leased to the Boys & Girls Club.
A planning commission meeting is scheduled for next month, regarding the conditional use of the property, and then the issue will go to the Pasco County Commission for a vote, Anderson said.
The project has met resistance from area residents.
Anderson said he planned to attend a meeting with neighbors. He said his goal is to “understand their concerns and then address them, as best as we can.”
Many of the details for the Navigation Center have not been worked out yet — such as how many beds the center will have — so conversations will need to continue as more information becomes available, he said.
There also is a host of challenges facing the homeless in Pasco County, he said. For one thing, there needs to be designated places where the homeless can go for shelter when temperatures plummet, he said.
There is some assistance available through partner organizations, but generally that is simply helping people in need to find motel rooms, said Anderson, noting the coalition pays for those rooms.
The Homeless Coalition, established in 1988, is a network of individuals and organizations working together to promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness.
Published January 17, 2018
