Homeless children tally doubles

A doubling of the number of homeless children alarms leaders of the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County.

Results of the Jan. 26 homeless count were released last week by the Rev. Dan Campbell, president of the coalition and CEO of the Joining Hands Community Mission.

The number of people considered homeless under federal guidelines has risen to 4,442. But the number rises to 7,988 when children are included in the count, according to state guidelines.

"The trends regarding children are particularly disturbing because the numbers have doubled in the past three years," Campbell wrote in a summary.

Equally troubling, Campbell said, is the increase in the number of the chronically homeless. The number of people who have lived on the streets for more than a year has risen to 1,585 in 2011 from 1,141 in 2008.

The increases come despite efforts that helped 900 people, primarily families with children, from becoming homeless, Campbell said.

The coalition is pursuing its 10-year plan to end homelessness by helping people become self-sufficient. Pasco is following the lead of successful programs in communities such as Miami. It will take years, not months, to reverse trends here, Campbell cautioned.

The exact economic impact on the community from homelessness is hard to measure, Campbell said. "But it is not difficult to predict that the impact is profound."

He added, "The numbers are easily in the millions as evidenced by the fact that the hospitals in Pasco have to write off an estimated $50 to $60 million dollars each year in unpaid bills."

Law enforcement agencies pay the expense of housing homeless people who wind up in jail, Campbell said. "Arrests have to be made, court time is taken, and the public defender's office is inundated with requests for assistance."

Progress has been made, Campbell said, through the creation of new beds to assist the homeless - 20 beds have been added to ACE Opportunities and six to Steps to Recovery.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri is trying to get a mobile medical van that could take some of the stress off emergency rooms. And Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger's office has helped create jail diversion plans that are much more cost effective.

New one-stop resource centers such as Joining Hands Community Mission and CORE/Rope Center strive to keep people from falling through the cracks and find available resources, Campbell said.

The coalition details its 10-year plan on its website under the "Reports" heading at www.pascohomelesscoalition.org/resources/links.