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Group hones in on homeless

The first order of business is to get everyone on the same page. Then, start helping.

By EILEEN SCHULTE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 21, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Tarpon Springs Mayor Beverley Billiris says some fear that shelters are in trouble.

At some point during her uncomfortable, fitful slumber, police officers would inevitably come around with their flashlights, shine them in her face and tell her to go home. Go on now, they would say, get a move on.

What a joke, she thought.

"How can you go home if you ain't got a home?" she said.

Coffman now works for the Shepherd Center, a social services agency, and is helping to make life better for those who live on the streets of Tarpon Springs.

She was one of 19 civic, community and church leaders and advocates who participated in Friday's all-day summit on homelessness at the city's Public Service Facility.

The workshop didn't resolve the issue, which did not surprise participants. Instead, it proved there is still much work to be done to help the estimated 218 people who call the city home, but live in the quickly disappearing wooded areas and clean themselves in the sinks of the pubic library.

Participants agreed it was an excellent - and necessary - first step toward a finding a solution or at least a direction on how to control the growing problem.

Nearly two dozen community leaders participated in the workshop, including homeless advocate Tom Henderson; Mayor Beverley Billiris; the Rev. Curt Snare of St. Timothy's Lutheran Church; Kip Corriveau, director of the Salvation Army's social services program and a member of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless; Sarah Snyder, executive director of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless; and Bill Vasiliou, executive director of the Shepherd Center, among others.

It was the fourth time that representatives from the various agencies and ministries in Tarpon Springs met to discuss the issue.

But this time "we were all finally unified as a group and we can proceed from here as a unified body," said Henderson, adding that no one was on the same page at previous meetings.

One topic the group discussed was the NIMBY phenomenon. The homeless advocates laughed at the mention of the acronym, which they all recognized it as meaning "not in my back yard," especially when it pertains to a shelter.

"The battle I have is residents saying, 'If you build it, they will come,' " Billiris said. "I have people (demanding), 'Why don't you eliminate the homeless?' Eliminate them! It's shameful."

"Pinellas County is affluent, but spiritually bankrupt," Snare said.

Snyder said those who have the "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" mentality are paying a hefty price for their ignorance.

"In Pinellas County, 300 a night who are in jail are homeless," she said. "It costs taxpayers $89 a night. It's tremendously expensive to jail homeless folks."

If they aren't in jail, many are living on the Pinellas Trail, hiding from authorities in the darkness.

She estimated 70 percent of them have substance-abuse problems.

Homeless parents won't seek help because they are afraid of losing their children, according to Snyder.

She said the problem is growing worse because of soaring rents, high utility bills and poverty-level paychecks.

Over the course of more than five hours, the group worked to create a more systemic approach to homelessness, including coordination between various organizations, networking with local hotelsand building a day center. They also discussed providing the homeless with transportation, financial and legal aid, rent assistance, employment help, permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter, transitional housing and more.

They also want to focus much of their energy toward prevention.

The group decided to create a nonprofit organization and work to end homelessness in the city through unity, commitment and passion.

It went well, said the Rev. James Warren of the Citizen Alliance for Progress and Care to Share.

"We had some heavy hitters here. It's going to work to help the homeless pull up, get jobs and get the help they need."

Eileen Schulte can be reached at schulte@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4153.

[Last modified October 20, 2007, 20:55:22]