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Homelessness is traumatic. People experiencing homelessness are living with a multitude of losses. People who are homeless have lost the protection of home and community, and are marginalized, isolated, and stigmatized within the larger society. Additionally, people who are experiencing homelessness are highly vulnerable to violence and victimization. Unfortunately, many people in these situations are then re-traumatized by the very people who are supposed to help them.
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Most of the funding for the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless comes from federal and local government sources. Currently, both Washington and Tallahassee are considering severe budget cuts to homeless programs. These austerity measures threaten what homeless coalitions and service providers do to help homeless families and individuals. However, there are steps we can take together to insure we can continue working to prevent and end homelessness in Pinellas County.
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The Pinellas Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter opened its doors to the area's homeless on January 6th. Although the shelter's capacity is 500, Sheriff's Department officials said the population will be phased-in slowly so that adjustments to the shelter operation can be made incrementally. Twenty-two men and seven women were admitted during the opening day. Three weeks later, the numbers have swollen to about 250 residents.
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On Thursday, January 13th, PCCH received an award from the St. Petersburg City Council for the development of The Cardboard Stories, a new play series developed by the Coalition and community volunteers to raise awareness about the true nature of homelessness in Pinellas County. St. Petersburg joined a growing list of cities in Pinellas County which have issued proclamations or awards in support of the play.
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U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1.41 billion in funding to keep nearly 7,000 local homeless assistance programs operating in the coming year. In Florida, 321 projects were funded for a total of $71.3 million. Pinellas County's share of that total amounted to $3.7 million in renewal funding for 21 projects.
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