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
