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Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless
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2010 Meetings Calendar
The Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. (PCCH) is an independent, community-based, tax-exempt, nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve and support the communities, agencies, and organizations concerned with homelessness by providing community education, advocacy, program support, capacity building and technical assistance.
The vision of the Coalition is expressed in the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Pinellas County: “Improving the quality of life for all our citizens means that no one in Pinellas County should be homeless.”
The following are the overall goals and objectives of PCCH: 1) provide technical assistance, supportive services, and educational opportunities to its members; 2) coordinate existing shelter and support programs for homeless people, and evaluate unmet needs of this population; 3) explore all possible resources for addressing unmet needs, create special initiatives, and continue/expand existing programs for homeless persons; 4) educate elected officials, community leaders, and the public-at-large regarding the circumstances and needs of people experiencing homelessness; and 5) advocate for housing, employment, transportation, education, health care, counseling/rehabilitative and other need-focused programs required to provide long-range solutions to the problems of people experiencing homelessness.
The Coalition has led the way in serving as our community’s lead entity to identify needs, maintain inventories of beds and services, identify gaps, develop a continuum of strategies to respond to those gaps, and to advocate for and solicit funds to move those strategies forward. The work done by PCCH provided a strong foundation for the development of the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Pinellas County.
PCCH partners with local, state, and federal agencies concerned with homelessness. The Coalition pushed for supportive reforms such as the establishment of the state office on homelessness. Through grant funding, advocacy and coordination, these agencies have been instrumental in assisting PCCH in its mission to end homelessness in Pinellas County.
The Coalition serves as a public operations network fostering coordination and integration of services. PCCH is the lead agency for the Pinellas County/St. Petersburg/Clearwater/Largo Continuum of Care, and it conducts the Annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Survey. PCCH, serving as the operational arm, works hand-in-hand with the Homeless Leadership Network, the policy arm, to end homelessness in Pinellas County.
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History
What began as a small group of advocates in 1984 has become what is now known as the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless. The first meeting of the homeless coalition was called by two hospitals that were experiencing difficulty with homeless people seeking admission during cold nights to get off the street. As a result, a group of concerned providers and individuals began operation of the Cold Night Shelter Program in 1986.
The Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless was officially incorporated on June 17, 1988.
Here are some historical highlights of the homeless coalition:
1989
- The Annual Sand Sculpting Contest for Month of the Homeless Child was started to collect school supplies for children residing in shelters.
- Kidstart, a curriculum to teach school-age children about homelessness, was developed in cooperation with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension.
1990
- The introduction of the HUD NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) pushed the Coalition to think more globally and to include services and providers that had not been involved in the coalition previously. The Coalition prepared the Continuum of Care document, further helping the Coalition develop its mission and vision of a better community for all, including homeless disenfranchised individuals and families.
1992
- The first By-Laws of the Coalition were codified.
1996-97
- The Coalition received a "Best Practices" award from HUD in 1996 for developing a "common intake form." This form was developed by the Service Providers Committee in an effort to reduce the redundancy of the information collection process for clients seeking services. The form contained basic demographic elements that clients were asked before they could receive services at each agency.
1998
- The Coalition held its First Annual Fall Holiday Auction to raise funds to support the programs and services provided by the Coalition to homeless individuals and families throughout Pinellas County and for hiring staff for the Coalition. This annual Live/Silent Auction is now called “Harvest for the Homeless.”
- Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Coalition’s Advocacy committee, in an effort to bring public attention to the conditions of homelessness, produced a variety of papers called the Ten Point Documents that provided national, state and local facts about homelessness, and ways to assist homeless people.
1999
- The coalition started a new needs assessment survey on March 5th.
- A new strategic planning process began. Diverse organizations, bodies, and individuals came together to find solutions to homelessness.
- PCCH began to administer the Grant-in-Aid program. This was a significant move by the state to recognize the coalition as the leading authority on homelessness in our area. This also marked the beginning of the PCCH’s role as a local funder.
- Community Voice Mail was a major new initiative within the community, and was supported and backed by the Coalition. This program provides homeless individuals with personal phone numbers with voice mail boxes, giving them improved access to housing, work, benefits and social services.
2000
- A homeless survey was completed for the first time in 5 years on January 13th.
2002
- The general meeting approved the Recommended Minimum Shelter Standards: A guide for shelter residents and providers.
2003
- Pinellas County began testing of its Homeless Management Information System called the Tampa Bay Information Network (TBIN).
2004
- The Tampa Bay Information Network (TBIN) begins operation.
2005
- PCCH, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, organizes the first Stand Down in years, serving all homeless people in Pinellas County.
2006
- The Coalition hires its first executive director, Ms. Sarah K. Snyder.
2007
- PCCH, in collaboration with the City of St. Petersburg and other agencies, helps to organize Project Homeless Connect, a one-stop event for homeless people to access health, employment and social services under one roof.
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The PCCH is a collaborative effort among its member service providers and concerned individuals of Pinellas County to provide resources to people experiencing homelessness within the community.
The broad range of services provided by our member agencies creates a system of care composed of eight elements which include:
- Infrastructure (includes TBIN, community voice mail, and homeless services coordination);
- Prevention (includes rent and utility assistance, counseling, domestic violence education and outreach);
- Outreach (includes funding for the homeless street outreach teams);
- Supportive Services (includes food, clothing, mail boxes, IDs, transportation, information & referrals, and other social services);
- Emergency Shelter (includes emergency shelter beds/mats and Pinellas Hope, a seasonal outdoor shelter);
- Transitional Housing (includes units in which program participants typically may reside for two years);
- Permanent/Permanent Supportive Housing (includes housing units and safe havens for chronically homeless persons); and
- Medical/Mental Health (includes health services, detox, substance abuse treatment and counseling, and more).
To learn more about these services and the agencies that provide them, please click here.
In addition to service coordination, PCCH provides the following direct services: Cold Night Shelters, Free Bus Passes, Project Homeless Connect, St. Petersburg Central Kitchen (organized through the St. Petersburg Homeless Task Force, a component of PCCH), annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Survey, Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, and Project UPBEAT (a capacity building project providing training and technical assistance).
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Officers
Duggan Cooley (President)
Chief Executive Officer
Religious Community Services, Inc.
Sandra Lyth (Vice-President)
Executive Director
Intercultural Advocacy Institute, Inc.
Jana Balacki Canty (Secretary)
Area Director
WestCare Gulf Coast Florida, Inc.
Kip Corriveau (Treasurer)
Director of Social Services
The Salvation Army - Upper Pinellas County
Lisa Jackson (Immediate Past President)
Vice-President of Grant Development
Family Resources
Directors
Fred Fearday
Director of Residential Services
Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care, Inc.
Jackie Griffin-Doherty
Vice President of Development
Operation PAR
Clarissa Hersey-James
Executive Director
Breaking Free By Faith Outreach Ministries, Inc.
Bonnie Marshall
Residential Program Director
Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), Inc.
Joyce Pritchett
Executive Director
YWCA of Tampa Bay
Libby Stone
Vice-President of Development
Homeless Emergency Project, Inc.
Daphne Street
Grants Specialist
Operation PAR, Inc.
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Directory
Executive Director
Sarah K. Snyder
Office: (727) 528-5762 Cell: (727) 424-1355
E-mail: sarah@pinellashomeless.org
Director of Development & Performance Evaluation
George N. Bolden, Jr.
Office: (727) 528-5832 Cell: (727) 424-1325
E-mail: george@pinellashomeless.org
Office Manager
Anne DeMarlor
Office: (727) 528-5763
E-mail: ademarlor@pinellashomeless.org
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Biographies
About Sarah K. Snyder
Sarah K. Snyder is the first Executive Director of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. She is also the staff director for the Homeless Leadership Network, an organization of elected officials and other county leaders. The Leadership Network is charged with developing homeless services policies, securing additional financial and other resources for homeless services, and ensuring that the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness is implemented.
Ms. Snyder has long experience in the Pinellas County human services arena. She was the President/Executive Director of the Pinellas Private Industry Council (the predecessor to the current WorkNet Pinellas Board) for over 16 years. During her tenure, the Council won numerous state, regional, and federal workforce development awards, including being named the first winner of the national Outstanding Private Industry Council Award by President Ronald Reagan. Ms. Snyder was also named the National Job Training Professional of the Year by the National Alliance of Business. Prior to that experience she administered a small juvenile delinquency project and a hospital-based on-the-job training program.
Following her service with the Pinellas Private Industry Council, Ms. Snyder consulted with local and state non-profit and governmental organizations across Florida and the nation for ten years. She specialized in the development and training of Boards of Directors, organizational development, staff training, and strategic planning.
Ms. Snyder has been a resident of Pinellas County for 35 years. She is also a quilter and textile artist. She has a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling and extensive post-graduate training in non-profit organizational design and development.
About George Bolden
George Bolden serves as PCCH’s Director of Development and Performance Evaluation. George has almost 30 years of experience in nonprofit management and grantsmanship. In addition to his experience in directing nonprofits and pastoring churches, George also directed homeless shelters in two different states, including Project ACHIEVE in Glendale, California, which earned a NAHRO Award for excellence and innovation. George recently completed a graduate certificate in nonprofit management and innovation from the University of Tampa, and uses his experience and education to assist CFBOs throughout Tampa Bay. An ordained clergyman, his interests and hobbies include inspirational writing, radio broadcasting, and fishing.
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