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BRIDGET HALL GRUMETCounty commissioners will consider today hiring a grant writer to help local homeless agencies secure funding.
NEW PORT RICHEY - David Gray helped line up nearly $1.2-million in state and federal grants as president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County. But he'll always remember the "undotted I's and uncrossed T's" that cost the group $137,500.
The all-volunteer group applied last fall for a state Challenge Grant, which would have been split among several shelters and charities. But the coalition lost out on the money because Gray did not sign a crucial form in the mountain of paperwork.
"We all burned the midnight oil and jumped through all the hoops," said Gray, who ends his two-year term this week. "But you get to the point where you think, if it hadn't been that, it would have been something else."
In the complicated realm of government grants, the coalition has amassed a mixed record of hard-won dollars and missed opportunities. Now it hopes to improve its odds by handing the more technical aspects to a county-hired expert.
The County Commission is scheduled to vote today on a plan to hire a grant writer to help the homeless coalition apply for funds. The county employee, who would earn $38,400 a year, would have the time and expertise to help Pasco agencies with the detailed applications.
"It's hard to ask someone to be responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars on a voluntary basis, and that's what has been asked of us for the past several years," said Gray, whose day job is director of the World Relief affiliate in New Port Richey.
"I believe that having someone available full time . . . is going to bring us into the 21st century as far as dealing with a very important problem in the community."
To compete for grants to help the homeless, local charities must coordinate their efforts through a "lead agency."
That agency must piece together a detailed plan for getting a homeless person into a shelter, then into transitional housing and eventually into a permanent home. The plan taps into the resources of local shelters, churches, charities and government services.
For years, the nonprofit homeless coalition has been that lead agency. Under the proposal coming before commissioners, the torch would pass to Pasco County.
"When you start dealing with federal and state funding, you're talking about a lot of intricate work that needs to have a great deal of oversight," said homeless coalition member Abby Evert, regional director for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
The homeless coalition will still play an important role, she said. Its members will decide which grants to seek, how to divide the money, and how to coordinate and improve services, she said.
The grant writer would work in the county's Community Development office, which oversees neighborhood redevelopment efforts and other programs to help lower-income people buy or repair a home.
"Homelessness is a big problem in Pasco County," said George Romagnoli, the county's Community Development manager. "More than 1 percent of our population is homeless, which doesn't sound like a lot, but you're talking about 4,000 people."
Some of them are battered women who flee abusive homes with their children, Gray said. Others are families that lose their homes shortly after the adults lose their jobs, he said.
"It's not the guy with the cardboard sign," Gray said.
Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is hall@sptimes.com