Florida Coalition for the Homeless

The Florida Coalition for the Homeless states:

The Department of Children and Families' most recent Florida Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida 2006 estimates that approximately 85,907 persons are homeless in Florida on any given day. According to the same report, “based upon the continuum of care plans filed with the Department in 2005, there were a total of 59,372 persons who were homeless, of which 27,265 persons were sheltered in emergency or transitional housing. This left forty-six (46) percent without shelter services. The existing housing supply to serve the homeless (emergency, transitional, permanent) totals 31,840 beds, enough to serve fifty-four (54) percent of the homeless.

While these numbers indicate an urgent need for additional resources to address the needs of homeless people, many citizens, including community and state leaders, continue to be unaware of the severity of our homelessness problem. The Department of Children and Families' most recent Florida Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida 2006 estimates that approximately 85,907 persons are homeless in Florida on any given day. According to the same report, “based upon the continuum of care plans filed with the Department in 2005, there were a total of 59,372 persons who were homeless, of which 27,265 persons were sheltered in emergency or transitional housing. This left forty-six (46) percent without shelter services. The existing housing supply to serve the homeless (emergency, transitional, permanent) totals 31,840 beds, enough to serve fifty-four (54) percent of the homeless."Thus, initiatives that could effectively address homelessness do not receive the attention and the funding they deserve.