Blog, I

Department of Children and Families interim Secretary George Sheldon announced the award of more than $6.9 million today to communities throughout the state striving to provide homeless assistance to families and individuals in their area. The grants, awarded annually, will provide services to more than 23,000 homeless in Florida, including families with children, youth aging out of foster care, persons with mental illness or substance abuse issues, victims of domestic violence and veterans. Statewide, it is estimated there are more than 60,000 homeless in Florida including approximately 20,000 children.

“Florida’s homeless coalitions, food banks and community partners are doing an incredible job serving the growing number of individuals and families facing financial strain and homelessness,” said Sheldon. “Together, these organizations are the backbone of Florida’s communities and this funding will further strengthen their services and their efforts to keep families off the streets.”

The $6.9 million in grant dollars were awarded through two separate grant programs – the Challenge Grant and the Homeless Housing Assistance Grant – both administered through the Department of Children and Families. A total of 22 Challenge Grants were awarded this year serving 44 counties with a total of $2,031,384 being distributed to Florida communities. Challenge Grant recipients will use their dollars for a variety of services including emergency financial aid and rental assistance for families on the verge of being evicted. Grant dollars can also pay for supported employment, shelter operating expenses as well as food, clothing and transportation for members of the homeless community who lack basic necessities.

Homeless Housing Assistance Grant recipients will dedicate their funds to the creation, renovation and maintenance of affordable housing options for the homeless. Nine Homeless Housing Assistance Grant recipients will create a total of 241 new housing units across the state using the $4.8 million provided by the Department. These dollars will join with $8.5 million in other private and public financing to help stimulate local economies through construction. The housing units will provide a free or low-cost housing option for underserved homeless populations including veterans and individuals with severe and persistent mental illness or substance addiction.

The Department awards the grants to organizations that demonstrate their ability to provide quality services in their area with a track record of success in receiving grant funding and private cash for services.

In recent years, homeless grant dollars awarded through the Department’s Office on Homelessness have helped Florida expand homeless services to 63 counties, covering more than 95 percent of the state’s population.

For those that didn’t make the cut, maybe they should look in to some business performance management software.

While Hurricane Fay gave spin doctors a new opportunity for new tunes to be dealt to the masses, there were some realities again that didn’t make the airwaves to the people.

Nobody wants to hear that the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing when it comes to the little people the hands were meant to be helping.

The simple fact that an unsheltered family couldn’t be told immediately where to go was the concern raised, and once again 80% of locations including Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office non emergency number (904) 630-3100 didn’t know the downtown Red Cross emergency shelter was operating.

Since that storm nobody wants to hear about it either. But they still check the blog here, so in that spirit here’s a tip: subordinates need to be given printed instructions of what’s open when the boss goes home at night.

After having done so, it’s THEN that Jacksonville’s spin doctors can feel more secure and relaxed their dealings with futures broker won’t be at risk of bad spin or job loss.

The Orlando Sentinel put out a story about the stadium to be built for the Magic recently. Basically it’s a slam towards the low income community, homeless, and probably dog catchers there too.

While it’s great they’ve got this project…great they want to get people trained…great it’ll be built…what happens next?

You’ll have maybe one third of the involved people with skills; afterwards; that they can market in an already wage cut state. This doesn’t include the people who get ripped off on minimum wages or the people hurt; or possible killed; due to unsafe work practices…if there should be any that occur.

That wouldn’t happen, would it?

Fact of the matter is nobody was wanting to educate all of the HUD dwellers, the homeless, and the ex-convicts until they could be used as a tool to promote another stadium.

But that’s just my two cents worth. Remember, this is the town that’s been ‘Fairy Tale’ land whenever it came to employment problems solved with talking mice and dogs.

That’s one thing I’m working on at the moment. When I’ve got time, I really enjoy cracking up here on the blog with many of my readers. For the next few days I won’t be able to do that, due to some special people I need to spend time with that are experiencing homelessness outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

After Friday, I’ll see what’s appropriate to share and what needs to be kept in confidence.

Road Trip!

Luckily nobody was hurt, but it’s something that homeless families in cars are facing at the moment in Jacksonville…Yogi Bear’s homeless kinfolk lookin’ for ‘Sex In The City’.

For the third time in two weeks, one reporter has covered stories of bears displaced by recent fires entering into areas where people tread. Today’s third was just three miles from our home.

Ironically, the location is smack dab in the middle of Jacksonville’s map of the city. Chances are it somehow swam to shore in the 5500 Clifton Block, an area with a high concentration of boat docks on the St. John’s River. Click on that link, and see how weird a bear…be there.

Reporters related that wildlife officials say the bears have been in most cases driven out by fires in their home areas, and then run off by other bears in areas they enter, causing a link of events that cause them to migrate farther than expected in short amounts of time…in this case, someone’s back yard.

Chances are the bear came ashore from the St. John’s River. Looking at a map, there doesn’t appear to be any area a six foot bear would be able to migrate without being noticed…Arlington Expressway would have had to been crossed…or University Blvd…maybe Atlantic…but the question now is where did the bear swim from? Did he go ‘upriver’ from the North? Was he swimming for hours after entering in from the Westside somewhere?

Honestly, I can bearly contain my own excitement. Unfortunately, the overall paths this bear probably came from; either Georgia/North Florida or SouthWest of Jacksonville; put him on a course that could have easily involved contact with people camping out.

This being summer and children leaving out of school, it’s not uncommon for parents to choose to ‘camp’ during the summer with their family, rather than stay in areas many homeless predators frequent.

Everywhere you go…some predator always manages to come out of the woodwork.

One day every person who is homeless will one day leave the homeless ranks. Some create homes, some are given homes, and there’s the last category.

The ones that die out of homelessness.

Getting spotty info with nothing from anyone local there, but word has it City Officials in Gainesville “have their hearts in the right places” in “Homeward Bound”; a recently reported program/campaign; by providing homeless people bus tickets to their homes of origin to reunite with family.

Uh…isn’t it kind of funny that this is being done immediately prior to the Major Gator parties going on there tonight…isn’t it? Wonder what they plan on doing with everyone who doesn’t have a family or home to go to elsewhere.

Amtrak ‘em to St. Petersburg?

On a lesser note, Gators 73…whoever they played…less.

Whatever. Gators BITE!