The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Youth Lane

Neighbors object, but family housing OK’d

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The Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County can move forward with plans to temporarily house homeless families in a building at the former campus of the Boys & Girls Club in Port Richey.

The coalition, with support from other social service agencies, also will open the Housing Services Center, which will administratively help families and individuals seeking permanent housing and other services.

A former Boys & Girls Club on Youth Lane in Port Richey will be renovated and opened as a temporary shelter for homeless families, and administrative offices for the Housing Services Center.
(File)

The Pasco County Commission, with Commissioner Jack Mariano dissenting, approved the coalition’s plan at its June 19 meeting in New Port Richey.

Commissioners also approved a 15-year lease agreement for $1 a year; and, a $190,000 contract to design renovations of two buildings at 8239 Youth Lane.

During the public hearing, many area residents who live near the site gave county commissioners the same unified message they’ve delivered before: They don’t want the coalition in their neighborhood, and they are voters.

Residents say they worry about crime, loss of property values, and safety.

“We deserve to be heard. We deserve to be listened to. We live and sleep here,” said Suzanne Greene Taldone, a resident in nearby Crane’s Roost. “You keep trying to put a square peg into a round hole.”

Supporters, including most county commissioners, say it’s overdue for Pasco to step up efforts to help the homeless population.

Data from the coalition puts the number of homeless people in Pasco County at about 2,500. Homeless families make up about 1,800 of those people and there are about 700 single adults.

Mary Ashcraft is pastor at Joining Hands Mission Church and opens the church to the homeless in cold weather. She supports the coalition’s project.

“There’s so many families out there,” she said. “I get phone calls, and I have nowhere to send them but Metropolitan Ministries. They go a great job, but they are full and packed.”

The county owns the land on Youth Lane and is providing at least $700,000 in grants, and other sources, to pay for building renovations.

“I think we’re going to do the right thing,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “Sometimes, we just have to take a chance.”

The lease agreement has a 90-day written notice of termination clause.

Starkey said, “If it doesn’t go right, we’ll do something about it.”

Crane’s Roost resident Valerie Schaefer said the coalition’s programs would be like a magnet — attracting more homeless people and transients into the neighborhood.

“We taxpayers and voters will hold you commissioners responsible if you vote this through,” she said.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano
(File)

Mariano shared concerns that the Housing Services Center could have people loitering in the area. He also thought spending available grants on Habitat for Humanity houses would be a better option.

“The issue is something we’re all sensitive to. It’s only primarily about location to the neighbors,” Mariano said. “I still don’t think it’s the right project.”

The programs approved by county commissioners were a change from the initial project to open a one-stop navigation center, with wrap-around services and a shelter for adult men and women.

Most supporters liked the shift in direction to help homeless families; while others still favored the original navigation center concept.

Under the amended proposal, the center will house four to eight families in the former teen center that’s on the site. They can receive services for up to 180 days, though coalition representatives say they expect most will be there about 45 days before transitioning to permanent housing.

No more than 36 people can stay there at any one time.

There also will be background checks, curfews, security cameras, and staff members onsite at the family shelter 24 hours a day.

Plus, the coalition will limit services available at the Housing Services Center, which will operate Monday through Friday office hours.

There will be no showers, emergency food or clothing, or health care services.

Those conditions convinced owners of an adjacent shopping plaza to support the coalition.

“This is not going to bring people out of the camps,” said Robert Lincoln, an attorney representing the plaza owners. “There’s not giveaways. It’s not going to be the anchor for bringing those people into the area.”

Chase Daniels, assistant executive director for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, also voiced Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco’s continued support for the program.

The coalition will provide desk space for deputies working in the area. They can stop by and fill out their paperwork, Daniels said. “They will have a presence,” he added.

Published June 27, 2018

Review board recommends family homeless shelter

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The Pasco County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a program to temporarily house homeless families in a former Boys & Girls Club building.

Planning commissioners reached that recommendation during a public hearing on June 6.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County wants to operate the temporary shelter on Youth Lane in Port Richey. The coalition also wants to open administrative offices in a second building, designated as the Housing Services Center. Individuals and families would be able to receive a range of social services at the center, with a primary focus on housing for the homeless population.

About 50 people attended a public hearing to oppose a program from the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County to operate a temporary shelter for families, and provide additional services at a Housing Services Center. (Kathy Steele)

The county owns the land, and has partnered with the coalition to get the program up and running.

About $700,000 in grants, and other funding sources, has been allocated for building renovations.

The Pasco County Commission is expected to make the final decision at a June 19 meeting in New Port Richey. Commissioners also will vote on an amendment to the county’s comprehensive land use plan to change the land use from open space/recreational to a public/semi-public use.

About 50 people attended the planning commission’s public hearing to show their opposition to the project. Most of the concerns, however, focused on the services available at the services center, not the temporary family shelter.

Area residents worried about increasing crime, a loss in property values, and overall public safety.

“The only good thing about this program is the good intentions,” said Suzanne Greene Taldone, who lives in the Crane’s Roost subdivision, off Little Road.

She thinks the coalition’s site will become a magnet for transients and will create “a cesspool of crime.”

Greene added: “Encampments flourish near these centers because they want to be first in line for services.”

The program was initially proposed in 2017 as a temporary shelter for adult men and women, with a focus on providing a one-stop center for social services and with a goal of placing people in permanent housing.

Amid strong opposition from residents, the coalition changed its purpose to instead help families only at the shelter. Coalition representatives also voluntarily limited the services that would be available at the Housing Services Center.

Under the proposal, the center would not have an emergency food pantry, clothes closet, showers, or scheduled visits for a mobile medical unit.

The coalition also agreed to other conditions.

Four to eight families would be housed temporarily, but no more than 36 people would stay at the shelter at any one time. The coalition estimates helping a minimum of 50 families annually.

Background checks would be done. There would be security cameras, and a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Also, coalition staff members would be on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Families could stay no longer than 180 days.

The goal, coalition officials said, would be for families to stay 30 days to 60 days, with most being placed in housing within 45 days.

“This is something that is very realistic,” said Don Anderson, chief executive officer of the homeless coalition.

Area residents remain skeptical.

Judith Bowes lives in the nearby subdivision of The Orchards of Radcliffe. She said more than 70 widows live there.

“They were scared. They had a lot of sleepless nights,” Bowes said. “The shelter that will house six to eight families is not the problem. The problem is (the Housing Services Center) will bring a lot of transients into the neighborhood. My neighbors are still having sleepless nights.”

But, Amina Ahmed said it made her sad to hear people making assumptions about people who are homeless.

“Not all of them are criminals,” Ahmed said. “People think if you’re homeless, you have to have a problem, which is not true. Let’s help people become valuable members of society.”

Attorney Robert Lincoln, who represents the owners of an adjacent shopping plaza, also spoke in favor of the coalition’s efforts.

The owners had found fault with the original plan but support the new direction, Lincoln said.

He said that eliminating such services as showers, medical care and clothes makes a difference.

“You take away those kinds of things, you take away the kinds of services that get people wandering in off the street,” Lincoln said.

Plus, he noted: “It’s much better to be working with (the coalition) and becoming engaged.”

Published June 13, 2018

Proposed homeless shelter for families stirs passions

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Efforts to aid Pasco County’s homeless population are shifting from a homeless shelter for single adults to a shelter for families only.

The goal is to place homeless families in permanent housing as soon as possible. That is a significant change from the initial focus one year ago on a “navigation center” with wraparound services for single men and women.

The effort now has a new name, too. It’s no longer being called a navigation center. Instead, it will be called the Housing Services Center.

Whatever it is called, some area residents still don’t want any shelter in their neighborhood. Others are unhappy with the change in focus.

Don Anderson, chief executive officer of The Homeless Coalition of Pasco County (File)

And, some are ready to welcome the shelter as a first step in the right direction.

About 100 people attended a public meeting on May 16 in New Port Richey to learn more about the new concept, and to offer comments.

Cathy Pearson, Pasco’s assistant county administrator for public services, and Don Anderson, chief executive officer of The Homeless Coalition of Pasco County, led the discussion.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey also attended.

She said she came to listen and learn. “This is not a subject I know a lot about,” she said.

Anderson defended the decision to operate a families-only shelter.

“We believe families are highly motivated to get into housing because of the number of children,” said Anderson.

The shift also would save the expense of hiring 24/7 security guards, he said.

The goal would be to place families in permanent housing within 30 to 60 days, with an average stay at the shelter around 45 days.

An additional six to 12 months of services would be provided after families leave the shelter.

Families are defined as one or two adults, with at least one child under age 18.

A year ago, another public meeting was held to discuss the initial proposal for a homeless shelter for adults.

“We felt it was time to update our citizens,” Pearson said.

The shelter, if approved, would be housed in one of two buildings at 8239 Youth Lane, off Little Road in Port Richey. The second building would become the offices of the homeless coalition, which currently operates in a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood on Pine Street.

The Youth Lane address formerly was home to the Boys & Girls Club, which vacated the site in 2016.

The updated presentation included a video and a power point slide show. As many as 70 social service agencies and organizations are partners with the homeless coalition, and support the Youth Lane shelter.

Passions ran high
More than 40 people spoke during public comment.

Opponents who live near the shelter site said they worry about increases in crime and a loss of property values.

Ann Archer Corona found it troubling that the shelter plan seems to change “minute-to-minute. We all feel threatened. I find it to be a big threat.”

She said housing values would drop significantly, if the shelter was to open.

Some who supported the initial plan to aid single men and women objected to the new focus on families.

“We are losing out on all those opportunities for the chronically homeless who are at risk of dying on the street,” said Kassie Hutchinson. “We’re ignoring a huge part of our population. Once again, we’re reneging on something we promised.”

Anderson said the coalition and its partners planned to increase outreach efforts for homeless adults. While no single adults could stay at the shelter, he said efforts would be made to find housing resources for them. But, he added, “There are limits to what we can do.”

A two-building campus on Youth Lane in Port Richey is the proposed site for a homeless shelter for families.

Pearson said it is still a goal in the future to fund a homeless shelter for single adults. “They won’t be forgotten,” she said.

Other members of the audience supported the new concept as a step in the right direction.

“Housing is the only known cure for homelessness,” said Daniel McDonald.

Every homeless person is someone’s son or daughter, sister or brother, he said. Leaving people homeless, he added, costs taxpayers money for providing public services.

“This (the shelter) is a bargain for taxpayers,” McDonald said. “It’s money well spent.”

The homeless coalition’s new proposal also found support from a once skeptical source – owners of an adjacent retail plaza, anchored by Hobby Lobby.

Sarasota attorney Robert Lincoln, who represents the shopping center’s owners, said, “We’ve been concerned about the project since it started moving forward last year.”

The budget for the initial plan didn’t seem adequate, and the space at the site too small to handle up to 75 adult men and women, Lincoln said.

Housing families seems to address most issues, including public safety, he said. “We’re continuing to work with the leadership (at the homeless coalition) to make sure we know who the families are,” Lincoln said. “They have been very responsive. We will continue to work with them.”

Starkey said the county should be compassionate but also tough on some issues, such as panhandling.

“I have to bring a hammer and I have to bring a heart,” she said.

Anderson said the cost to remodel the two buildings on campus would be about $700,000. The coalition has about $680,000 from a federal neighborhood grant, with an additional $100,000 from Pasco County’s United Way.

Annually operating costs are estimated at about $350,000. All but $145,000 is already funded, Anderson said.

Additional grants and private donations will be sought, he added.

The Pasco County Housing Authority has pledged 50 housing vouchers, which can be used anywhere in the county as part of the Section 8 housing program.

Pasco has about 2,600 homeless people, based on the most recent count. More than 700 are individuals, with more than 1,800 in family relationships.

Shandi Vargas was among a handful of people who put a face to the plight of Pasco’s homeless population. She escaped an abusive marriage, but ended up homeless. She currently lives in a rented room and has found an internship.

She is working toward living again with her three children.

“I’m a single mom trying to fight for her children,” Vargas said.

A homeless shelter for families probably would have kept her family intact, she said.

Even as she struggles with her own situation, Vargas said she volunteers to help other homeless people, and people at risk.

“Let us come together and figure out a solution, and stop thinking all homeless are criminals,” she said.

The Pasco County Planning Commission, which makes recommendations on land use issues, will review the proposal on June 6 in New Port Richey.

The final decision is up to the county commissioners, who will hold a public hearing on the matter June 19, also in New Port Richey.

Published May 23, 2018

Homeless shelter to help families find housing

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A “one-stop navigation center” for the homeless population in Pasco County will provide temporary shelter for families, instead of the initial plan to help single adult men and women.

If opened, the center would be Pasco’s first homeless shelter.

An estimated $100,000 annual cost for around-the-clock security at the facility and neighborhood opposition to the original plan prompted the shift in the shelter’s purpose.

A public meeting in 2017 to discuss a proposed homeless shelter drew a large, impassioned crowd. (File)

“We realized the need was great for families, and we will have more funding (opportunities) for families,” said Don Anderson, chief executive officer for the Homeless Coalition of Pasco County.

A public meeting to discuss the new concept will be held May 16 at 6 p.m., at the Pasco County Commission board room in New Port Richey. Additional outreach to residents in nearby neighborhoods also is planned.

Commissioners voted on April 24 to continue the public hearing for a conditional use permit for the facility until June 19.

That will allow time to amend the coalition’s application, and to hear from area residents.

Commissioners have been supportive of the project, and previously approved funding to remodel the center.

Commissioner Jack Mariano, however, has been critical of the county’s choice of location.

Residents from Crane’s Roost, a neighborhood of about 90 homes, off Little Road, said the homeless population needs help, but they think the proposed location is wrong.

They worry about increased solicitations, crime and lowered property values.

Business owners at Ridge Plaza, adjacent to the Youth Lane site, have objected, too.

The commission’s boardroom was packed during the public hearing in 2017, with people equally passionate on both sides of the issue.

A former Boys & Girls Club in New Port Richey is being proposed as a temporary shelter for homeless families.

Advocates for the center point to its location near bus stops, government offices and service agencies as a good fit to help people in need. They also say Pasco County has been unresponsive in the past in meeting the needs of its homeless population, which at times has been counted as high as 3,000 people.

The center would operate at the two-building campus formerly leased by the county to the Boys & Girls Club, at the end of Youth Lane, off Little Road.

Under the initial concept, the goal was to house 50 to 75 homeless adult men and women for an average of 90 days at the navigation center. They would receive help in locating housing, jobs, job training and health care.

A survey by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office found about 100 homeless camps throughout the county. The initiative would focus on one camp at a time.

Under the new plan, the coalition’s “housing first” program would provide temporary shelter to families for 30 days to 60 days.

Anderson said an average stay could be 45 days or less. He anticipates housing about four families to six families at a time.

The coalition’s administrative offices would operate from Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. People would receive help with job training, showers, health care, behavioral health care, case management, resume building and financial literacy.

The only food services provided would be to families staying at the center.

The people who are served at the coalition’s location on Pine Street are polite and respectful, Anderson said.

“They are really looking for services that can help them get out of their situation,” he said.

Anderson said he was hopeful that the new direction for the navigation center will be well-received.

“We really want to take advantage of their (the county’s) willingness to do something in the community for the homeless,” Anderson said.

Published May 2, 2018

Navigation center gets funds; location upsets residents

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Pasco County commissioners agreed to disperse federal funds for a navigation center that will work with the homeless population to find permanent housing, health care and jobs.

About $250,000 will be used to remodel the former Boys & Girls Club buildings on Youth Lane in Port Richey. Approximately $70,000 will be used to hire a staff member, possibly a program specialist, for the homeless program for adult men and women only.

Commissioners approved the funds at their Aug. 15 meeting in Dade City.

Pasco County officials want to remodel the Boys & Girls Club on Youth Lane in Port Richey for a navigation center to help the homeless population. (File)

Their vote came after a nearly two-hour public comment period where county commissioners heard from supporters and opponents.

It is the location, more than the concept, which is at the heart of the dispute. The county proposes to reopen the two-building campus at the end of Youth Lane, off Little Road. The site is adjacent to Ridge Plaza, which is anchored by Hobby Lobby and a Walmart Neighborhood Supermarket.

Crane’s Roost, a subdivision of about 90 homes, is on the opposite side of Little Road.

Residents say the navigation center will hurt property values, increase crime, and make them less safe.

“Our fears are not unfounded. We do have the right to feel safe in our communities,” said Valerie Schaefer, who has lived in Crane’s Roost about 20 years.

Advocates for the center say Pasco has been too slow in responding to the needs of more than 3,000 homeless people who live on the streets, in vehicles and within about 100 encampments across the county.

The Youth Lane site is located by bus stops, government offices and agencies that can provide needed services.

“A lot of them need help with jobs and help with moving on, on their own,” said Raine Johns, chief executive officer of the Homeless Coalition of Pasco County. “It has to be somewhere in the county. This is the perfect location for it.”

The coalition is slated to operate the center. County commissioners will be asked at a later day to transfer the site’s property deed to the coalition.

The goal is to relocate homeless people, one camp at a time. Adult men and women would temporarily live at a “low-barrier” shelter while case managers work to assess their needs, and find permanent housing.

Families wouldn’t be eligible.

Johns estimates average stays of 90 days or less.

The navigation center is expected to open by mid-2018.

Published August 30, 2017

Opening doors of hope for the homeless

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The Pasco County Commission has approved funding to renovate a former Boys & Girls Club, and reopen the campus as a navigation center for the county’s homeless population.

An administrative building and a teen center, at 8239 Youth Lane in Port Richey, will be refurbished with about $600,000 in federal and state money.

The goal is to open the navigation center by mid-2018.

The center will serve as a “low-barrier” homeless shelter. Its larger purpose, however, is to find housing for homeless men and women, and deliver support services for job searches, job training, education and health care.

Pasco County will dedicate about $600,000 in federal and state grants to rehabilitate the former campus of the Boys & Girls Club on Youth Lane in Port Richey. It will be the site for a navigation center to help homeless people restart their lives. (File)

It will be the first time the county has opened a homeless shelter, and embarked on such a major initiative. The center is modeled after one in San Francisco.

“Navigation centers work,” Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore said. “This is a community effort. This is a people’s building. This is a citizen’s building. I need everybody to come together. Let’s pool resources together and get something done.”

Moore is chairman of the Homeless Advisory Board.

Commissioners heard from about a dozen people during public comment. Speakers were passionate, with most of them supporting the navigation center.

Suzanne Chicon has volunteered for the annual count of homeless people in Pasco. Among the people she met was a man who lost a good-paying job for health reasons, and a young woman who had aged out of the foster care program.

“Some of the things I witnessed horrified me,” Chicon said. “We need the (navigation) center as a focused area to help these people.”

But, the location of the center is raising alarm bells for some residents who live in the nearby subdivision of Crane’s Roost.

Valerie Schaefer told commissioners she had spoken with all but a handful of residents in the 89-home neighborhood. Most are worried about increasing crime, solicitations and lower property values, she said.

“No one in the neighborhood is against the humanitarian (purpose) of the navigation center,” Schaefer said. “But, they are concerned. They are very scared. They are very angry over this proposal…We have skin in the game. We live here.”

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey supports the navigation center but said, “I need a report in a year or two on how it’s going.”

Only Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano voted against the navigation center. He supports the concept, but not the location.

“I just don’t like the setup,” he said.

He backed off a previous suggestion that a hurricane shelter in Hudson would be a better site, agreeing that it would be too remote. But, he offered a new idea – building tiny houses on land with access to U.S. 19.

Starkey was willing to consider such a project, but only if the houses were dispersed through the county.

Pasco has more than 3,000 homeless people based on an annual count. About 500 are considered chronically homeless. Many of the homeless individuals live in about 100 camps identified by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office countywide.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco supports the center.

“The sheriff’s office cannot solve this problem,” he said. “It’s a health care issue, but unfortunately it falls on the shoulders of law enforcement. What the (homeless) coalition wants, we’re going to go with. I think the coalition is heading in the right direction.”

Commissioners gave initial approval to the funding and the location for the center on June 20 in New Port Richey. A final vote on the project is scheduled for July 11 in Dade City.

The funds would be dispersed after Oct. 1.

Commissioners will be asked in September to transfer the county property to the Homeless Coalition of Pasco, which will manage the navigation center.

The goal is to work with one camp at a time. Homeless individuals would live at the navigation center on average about 90 days, said Raine Johns, the coalition’s chief executive director.

They would be given “wrap-around” services, and personalized case management for about 12 months, through a coalition of partners, including United Way of Pasco and the Pasco County Housing Authority.

As many as 75 single adult men and women would be housed at the center. They would get help in finding jobs, job training, education and health care. Housing is a priority.

The county’s housing authority has pledged 75 housing vouchers to the program.

“There is such a big change in a person’s life when he does have a place to live,” Johns said.

Homeless people are living in cars and in the woods, she added. “You are creating a cycle of poverty because people don’t have a safe place to live.”

Published June 28, 2017

New center could help Pasco’s homeless

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Pasco County wants to open the county’s first homeless shelter as part of a comprehensive plan to help an estimated 3,300 homeless people.

There are about 100 camps across Pasco County where people live, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

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.

Pasco County Emergency Services Director Kevin Guthrie spoke to a large crowd on June 14 in New Port Richey. The county had a public meeting to talk about a navigation center to help homeless individuals with housing, health care and jobs. (Kathy Steele)

The Pasco County Commission was set to vote on June 20 (after The Laker/Lutz News deadline) on two federal grants that would be used to rehabilitate buildings.

The goal is to open the navigation center in 2018.

Pasco County and the Homeless Coalition of Pasco had public meetings on June 7 and on June 14 in New Port Richey to explain the navigation center and get public input.

While most support the homeless shelter in concept, nearby neighbors in Crane’s Roost and representatives of a nearby mall object to the proposed location at 8239 Youth Lane, off Little Road in New Port Richey.

They worry about increased solicitation, crime and lowered property values.

Studies have shown the opposite, including decreases in crime, said Raine Johns, chief executive officer of the Homeless Coalition of Pasco.

“You’ll find this decreases dramatically,” she said.

However, a representative of Ridge Plaza, anchored by Hobby Lobby and a Walmart Neighborhood Market, said tenants have expressed concerns about impacts to their businesses. He also said no one had reached out to mall representatives to discuss the navigation center.

“It certainly merits that we get together,” he said.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano was the only commissioner to vote against the navigation center in November. He proposed putting the center in the Mike Fasano Regional Hurricane Shelter in Hudson.

He said the program could be operated cheaper, safer and quicker if the shelter were used.

Others said the hurricane shelter was in the “middle of nowhere,” with no bus service and few job opportunities.

“The last thing we want to do is institutionalize the homeless population,” said Johns.

The navigation center is modeled after one in San Francisco. It would be a one-stop shelter that would work to place people into housing. They also would receive help in finding jobs, job training and health care, and receive personalized case management.

The efforts would focus on one camp at a time, with as many as 75 single adult men and women housed an average of 90 days at the navigation center.

“Housing first. That’s the end goal,” said Cathy Pearson, assistant county administrator for public services. “A lot of partners are coming together. We believe in this.”

The count done by the sheriff’s office found homeless camps in all areas of the county, including west Pasco, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes and Dade City.

“This is a serious topic. We know that,” said Pasco County Sheriff’s Capt. James Steffens. “We’re trying to do something other than put handcuffs on people and take them to jail.”

The sheriff’s office is one of the partners for the navigation center. Others include the United Way of Pasco, the Pasco County Housing Authority, and the Public Defender’s Office of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

United Way will contribute about $100,000. About 50 housing vouchers will be dedicated to the navigation center. And, the public defender’s office plans to send its mobile medical unit to the center.

Pasco also plans to contribute about $50,000 for a program that would hire some of the homeless individuals for county labor. The goal is to help them learn skills and establish a work history.

The County Commission is expected to be asked in September to transfer the navigation center property to the homeless coalition.

As a nonprofit, the coalition has more access to additional grants.

Published June 21, 2017

Pasco to help homeless ‘navigate’ to better lives

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Pasco County is exploring a new program to address the needs of the homeless population. It would provide a one-stop location to provide shelter, and an array of services and resources for homeless individuals.

County officials are proposing to remodel two vacant buildings at 8239 Youth Lane in Port Richey, formerly the home of a Boys & Girls Club. Described as a “navigation center,” the site would be able to house up to 100 homeless people at a time, and be a central location for nonprofits and other agencies to provide “wraparound services.”

County officials provided Pasco County commissioners with a presentation on the program at the Oct. 24 meeting in New Port Richey. In a 4-1 vote, commissioners agreed to pursue the program, potentially as a 2018 budget item.

“It’s a chance to take a step forward. It’s a chance to give these people a hand up,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “One of the things you don’t see is a facility like this in Pasco County. We’ve got to move forward on this.”

The commissioner serves as chairman of a citizen’s advisory board with the Coalition for Homeless in Pasco County.

Estimates put remodeling costs for the vacant buildings at about $1 million. County officials plan to pursue state funding.

Annual operating cost would be about $600,000, with funds from public and private resources.

The program is modeled after one adopted in San Francisco. County officials also are looking at other programs, including ones in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

About 4,500 people are homeless in Pasco, with about 800 chronically homeless. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, there are more than 100 homeless camps countywide.

Individuals stake out camps often in wooded areas all over the county, including west Pasco, Zephyrhills and Dade City, sheriff’s data shows.

Chase Daniels, assistant executive director of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, said, “Having one of these low-barrier shelters would be a game changer in Pasco County.”

Bob Dillinger, public defender in Pinellas and Pasco counties, said more than 30 percent of homeless in Pasco are children. Perceptions of homeless people often are wrong, he said.

“They want a job. They want a safe place to live,” Dillinger said.

One homeless camp at a time would be relocated to the navigation center where people can live while case managers from various agencies provide counseling, job training, health care and educational resources. The end goal is creating a pathway to permanent housing.

The location for the navigation center met with some opposition.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano cast the lone vote against the proposal and lobbied in favor of the Mike Fasano Regional Hurricane Shelter in Hudson.

“I would like to see us doing a full look,” he said. “If there’s other alternatives, I want to look at those alternatives.”

The hurricane shelter already is equipped to accommodate groups of people, and has a full kitchen, he said.

Greg Phillips, chief executive officer of a nonprofit, Kids Kicking High, also asked commissioners to consider allowing his program to occupy the space at the former Boys & Girls Club. The program offers before and after school classes with a focus on martial arts, and is located off Little Road in New Port Richey.

Sandra Butler’s 8-year-old autistic son recently earned his white belt at Kids Kicking High. “That’s a big accomplishment for him,” she said. “This is a big need for our community.”

While county officials described the navigation center as being secluded, some area area residents expressed concerns during public comment that the navigation center would increase crime in their neighborhood.

County officials hope to dispel those concerns.

“The homeless are here,” said Cathy Pearson, the county’s assistant county administrator for public services. “It’s better to have a place for them than to have them loitering at your business or your lawn.”

Published November 9, 2016