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Baker rubs elbows with the homeless

The mayor observes part of a county census, whose tally is expected to exceed last year's figure of 4,540.

By JON WILSON
Published February 1, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - An outreach worker to help the city work on the issue of homelessness is on Mayor Rick Baker's to-do list.

Baker, who attended lunch Monday at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen, said the idea has yet to be developed fully. But he said he has in mind a hands-on person who would be city-employed and who would work with police.

"The idea would be someone on the streets (to) find out (homeless people's) issues, (and) can they be placed," Baker said.

Monday's countywide census of homeless people, which also attempted to survey reasons for homelessness, is expected to produce an increase over last year's figure of 4,540, officials said.

Last year, about 55 percent of those surveyed said they live in shelters, cars, motels or on the street.

"It's a St. Petersburg issue, but it's a state issue. It's a national issue," Baker said.

This year's tally and analysis won't be ready for about a month, said Fred Fearday, research director for the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, which conducts the census.

But anecdotal evidence suggests the presence of more homeless people needing more services.

"We believe the raw numbers are going up. Certainly, that's the impact we're seeing on the facilities that provide services for the homeless. That's why we're falling behind on the numbers of beds we have available for people," said Sarah Snyder, the coalition's executive director.

Baker went to lunch at St. Vincent de Paul's specifically to observe the census-taking, he said.

For several minutes he studied a questionnaire that 184 people who showed up to eat were asked to fill out. The questionnaire sought information about their experiences being homeless.

For example, it asked how many times the respondent had been without a place to stay and how long he or she had been in that situation.

It asked how long the person had been in Pinellas County, why he came here, and what caused him to be homeless. It asked about income, work history, disabilities and services received.

The idea is to build a database to help service providers do their jobs. It will also fold into a 10-year plan being developed by the county's homeless policy group, which is separate from the coalition. Its goal is to end homelessness in Pinellas within a decade.

Baker suggested that "homelessness" can include people in temporary housing.

[Last modified February 1, 2006, 01:03:19]