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Activists Target Homelessness

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By CARL ORTH

The Suncoast News

Published: March 11, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - With foreclosures threatening to put more families on the streets, community leaders have been working on a long-range plan to curb homelessness.

As a first step, a Florida Housing Help Workshop on Saturday will reach out to people facing foreclosure, the Rev. Dan Campbell, president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County, told county commissioners recently.

With a foreclosure rate of about 9 percent - and other factors - Pasco meets the definition of a distressed county, said Campbell, pastor of Community United Methodist Church of Holiday.

It would be foolish to continue the mistakes of the past 20 years in trying to manage and contain homelessness, Campbell said.

"It's not just the compassionate thing to do, it's the smart thing to do," Campbell said.

Dozens of cost-benefit analyses have shown it is less expensive to fix the problems that lead to homelessness, he said.

Pasco can follow the example of hundreds of other communities that have enacted 10-year plans to combat the problem, Campbell said.

The county has lost out on federal funding because it has had no formal plan to confront the issue, Campbell said.

Within several months, Campbell and others hope to finish the plan, one he hopes will not sit on a shelf and gather dust.

Saturday's workshop will be a great place to start, Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri said.

People often can't get answers from their lenders or elsewhere on avoiding foreclosure, Mulieri said.

The workshop, conducted through the office of Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, is designed to supply those answers.

FORECLOSURE WORKSHOP

The Florida Housing Help workshop will be held from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at Community United Methodist Church, 3214 U.S. 19, Holiday. Advance registration is recommended. For details, call 1-877-693-5236.

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