Homelessness Jumps By 20% in Pinellas County

Lisa Jackson, President of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., is announcing the results of the 2009 Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Survey for Pinellas County. The count was conducted the week of January 25, 2009, and referred to homeless status on the night of Sunday, January 25th. When announcing the final results Ms. Jackson stated: “We have known anecdotally for at least a year that the poor economy was having a major impact on the numbers of homeless persons in Pinellas County. The results provided here demonstrate factually how large the increase has been.”

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HEARTH Act Leaves No Homeless Family Behind

In the first major overhaul of the McKinney-Vento Act since 1995, when the Continuum of Care process was created, President Obama signed into law on May 20th the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. With a federal goal that no family should be homeless for more than 30 days, the HEARTH Act includes strong initiatives to ensure that no homeless families are left behind.

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Report: Homelessness Prevention a Vital Strategy for Florida

The foreclosure and economic crises are significantly increasing homelessness in communities across the country. The growing homelessness problem makes prevention programs particularly timely and urgent. The State of Florida is one of 25 states that uses state and federal funding to help prevent homelessness, according to a recent study conducted by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

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Protecting Homeless Key to Curbing Swine Flu

As of Friday, May 15th, Florida has 69 confirmed cases of swine flu, including three in Pinellas County. The current outbreak of swine flu points to the vulnerability homeless men, women and children to preventable disease, progressive morbidity, and premature death. The implementation of an appropriate public health response is critical in maintaining the health of homeless persons. Controlling influenza transmission within homeless shelters may benefit the broader public in the same way that reducing the rates of tuberculosis among homeless persons is regarded as essential in preenting transmission to the general population. For more info and precautions, click on the link below.

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HUD Grants Record Amount for Homeless Assistance Projects in Pinellas County

Lisa Jackson, president of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, announced Thursday the award of over $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help homeless individuals and families in Pinellas County find a stable home and receive critically needed services. In addition to this competitive grant, an additional Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) allocation of $230,752 for St. Petersburg and Pinellas County—double the amount received last year—will help fund the operation of local shelters and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs.

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