{"id":44497,"date":"2024-04-22T16:14:51","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=44497"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:27:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:27:43","slug":"learn-about-the-early-phases-of-the-city-of-lakelands-initiatives-to-help-the-homeless-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2024\/04\/22\/learn-about-the-early-phases-of-the-city-of-lakelands-initiatives-to-help-the-homeless-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn about the early phases of the City of Lakeland’s initiatives to help the homeless. Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Homelessness is a much-debated problem when it comes to helping those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It\u2019s often thought that people are homeless because of drugs or alcohol or a general disregard for responsibility or mental issues. In some cases, this is true but not all cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should we help them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How should we go about doing it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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These seem to be the questions many in our community are asking yet few can agree upon even the experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things that we need to be sensitive to when we embrace the entire topic of homelessness is that we don\u2019t let our preconceptions about what homelessness affects us,\u201d says Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutz lead a Lakeland Homelessness Steering committee which identifies key issues surrounding homelessness and works in hopes of creating long-term sustainable solutions to the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe often come in with preconceptions that it relates only to where we live \u2026 and what we\u2019re talking about is a problem nationally and to a huge extent,\u201d says Mutz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that that stops sleeping on public property. Goes into effect Oct 1, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The reality is homelessness affects a wide variety of people. It\u2019s described as extreme poverty coupled with a lack of stable housing, and it can affect anyone from children and families to adults with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people have struggled with short-term homelessness at one time or another. We\u2019ve all had friends who have spent some time couch surfing because of disagreements or financial situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, long-term and chronic homelessness can be caused by anything from poverty to disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t judge the amount of homeless people in public as a measurement of Lakeland\u2019s success in aiding the homeless issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One factor that affects all levels of homelessness is housing costs or lack of available housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paying for housing could be too expensive for people who might live off of government-assisted housing (temporarily or indefinitely), or, if you have a felony, you may not be eligible to rent in a lot of areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people in severe poverty, housing can be a dilemma where one must choose between eating and having a place to call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mutz, Lakeland currently has around 3,700 homeless children. They might not be living on the street or at a homeless shelter, but they represent a wide variety of home insecure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of the ministries that work with the homeless are to capacity, and there needs to be a solution for the chronically homeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Lakeland itself is investing in reducing the homeless population in an effort to ease this housing crisis issue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In 2018 the City commissioners approved $190,000 to help 25 homeless adults or adults with children by helping them pay their first and last month\u2019s rent. Ninety-thousand dollars of that will be for hiring two caseworkers to steer homeless people in downtown Lakeland to opportunities for housing, jobs or job training, transportation, medical care, and other social services. This initiative is good for one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $190,000, shifted from revenue from red-light camera violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor asked for $101,000 in the 2019 city budget to keep the programs going for one more year. The Ledger reported that Mutz’s renewal effort is in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city’s caseworkers reported taking on 83 total cases involving 176 people. They found homes for all but five of them. Additionally, they helped 39 people find jobs, while another 15 were expected to begin work soon, and through donations, six were given bus or plane fare to return to cities where they had worked in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, a budget workshop in July 2019 yielded four no votes for continuing. In comments, for instance, Commissioner Bill Read noted he voted against it before and hadn’t seen anything to change his mind. Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley suggested the city could find “private dollars” to fund the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Lakeland should have continued Mutz’s program for one more year to see if it continues to yield fruit. The amount involved is essentially equivalent to a rounding error in the city budget. If caseworkers cannot demonstrate continued success in turning lives around a year from now, then halt it and think of something else. But based on what it’s shown so far, Lakeland should stick with it for another budget cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with the City\u2019s help, Lakeland is also fortunate to have multiple agencies that work with the homeless or housing insecure of Polk County. Each has a heart for a specific need in the homeless community and are working tirelessly to help end homelessness in Lakeland and Polk County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way we can all be a help is by learning to approach the homeless differently. As a community, the goal is to get the homeless residents of Lakeland the help they need. But we also have to realize that even though we\u2019re trying to reduce the amount of homelessness in public, we are doing that most importantly to help Lakeland citizens. We can\u2019t judge the amount of homeless people in public as a measurement of Lakeland\u2019s success in aiding the homeless issue. The homeless have just as much right to be in public places as every resident of Lakeland.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The best measurement of success should be based on how many students can we help feed, clothe, and house. How many people can we get job training that might not have been eligible for it before? How many chronically homeless people can we help by supporting them with a place to live, or a job or skill that they can be proud of that helps them contribute to secure housing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re unsure how to help someone who is homeless, there are several options on how to do so that require little to no financial investment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Carry homeless kits in your car. You can purchase them on Amazon, or you can put them together yourself. Kits include small hygiene kits and non-perishable snacks like granola bars. Assembling kits is a great activity to do with children!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Be knowledgeable about the local resources that we have for the homeless population in Lakeland.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Donate or volunteer at one of the local homeless shelters or programs. Most of these programs are also connected to thrift stores that accept donations to help with partial funding and employ residents in their transition programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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