Until 2002 the county had never applied for its share of federal money it was entitled to. Last month, local agencies applied to HUD for $59,850.
By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published July 22, 2005
For the past two years, Pasco County's homeless and the agencies serving them have missed out on huge pots of federal money available for their cause.
But after one year under the watch of Pasco County government, the local homeless coalition has gained momentum and is seeking at least a slice of the $825,377 pie the county is entitled to.
It's not a total success story for a county that until 2002 was the most populous in Florida to never have even applied for its share of homeless grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. But it is progress.
"We're going in the right direction," said Trish Kley, president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County.
Last month, the coalition applied to HUD for $59,850, money it wants to expand an information system used to track referral services provided to Pasco's nearly 3,700 homeless, according to the coalition's most recent count.
The grant application was written by Kathryn Manz, the homeless coalition facilitator hired by the county last year to foster a partnership in which the county government serves as the coalition's "lead agency."
But the new setup wasn't quite enough to position providers to seek some of the federal grant money for projects of their own.
"We did not have a strong, viable project that could get up and running within the time frame" set by HUD guidelines, Kley said.
Though each county's population, demographics and poverty level entitle it to a share of the HUD dollars - the largest pot of federal money aimed toward the homeless. But local agencies must apply for the grants to receive them.
However, the HUD dollars can be spent only on certain things. They can cover building costs for transitional housing, for example, but not staff or maintenance.
Manz is helping nonprofits overcome this financial burden by helping them seek, write and manage grants, Kley said. Several agencies, she said, are looking to collaborate on housing projects in time for next year's grant cycle.
"We're hoping to be able to plug into or find those additional (grant) dollars that would help us with those staffing and maintenance costs," Kley said.
