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Students Confront Homeless Problem

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST NEWS

Pasco County community development division supervisor Eugene Williams and Christina Cazanave, a division intern, inform students at Seven Springs Middle School what they can do to help homeless people.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: February 20, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Everybody talks about the homeless, but students in the Lead the Pack program at Seven Springs Middle School wanted to do something about it.

Unlike many adults, the young people were willing to admit they don't have the answer to tackling the homelessness problem.

So they found someone who deals with the homeless on a professional basis.

Eugene Williams, project supervisor for the Pasco County community development division, came to speak to the Lead the Pack students last Thursday. He brought with him Christina Cazanave.

An intern in Williams' office, Cazanave is studying to be a social worker, specializing in homelessness issues, at St. Leo University.

Williams' office coordinated the county's annual homeless census, held this year on Jan. 30. Information from the count is used to develop a statistical picture of the county's homeless population.

The county, in turn, uses that information when applying for grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD funds help pay for programs and facilities for homeless people.

According to preliminary results of the homeless count, the Pasco County homeless population is in excess of 4,000.

When it comes to dealing with homeless people, it is important to see beyond numbers and the stereotypes, Williams said.

"A lot of people believe homeless people are drunks and derelicts and they're lazy," Williams told the students. "But some of them just have problems. Some are down on their luck."

It's true, he said, many homeless people got that way because of drugs or alcohol. Others, however, have mental problems, and while they don't qualify for housing in a state institution, they are incapable of getting by on their own.

In addition, many homeless people are just the victims of bad luck. Some have been laid off work or have lost a principal family breadwinner to catastrophic illness or death.

The majority of homeless people at any given time are homeless for the first time and most will be homeless for less than a year. Families with children are the fastest growing portion of the homeless population.

"We have over 1,200 children in Pasco County who are homeless," Williams said. Most of these children still find ways to get to school, and many of their parents have jobs.

In fact, about 40 percent of homeless people are employed. Their income, however, is not enough to pay for housing, Williams said.

In response to Williams, the students proposed a possible solution, a tent city for the homeless.

Although their intentions were good, Williams told them, there are obstacles that would make that idea unworkable.

First, there already are tent cities in Pasco County. Most people don't see them because even on private land they are illegal so they are hidden.

There are also expense and liability issues and most people who aren't homeless would not want a tent camp near their houses, the so-called "NIMBY" factor.

"You never heard of NIMBY?" he asked the students. "It stand for 'not in my back yard.'"

There are three main ways to help the homeless, Williams told the students:

• Learn who the homeless are.

• Determine what services already exists to help them.

• Explore how those services could be improved.

The nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County includes several organizations that provide food, shelter and other services, Cazanave said.

"There is a number, 211," she told the students.

"It's like 411, but for homeless," Williams said.

Nationwide, 211 systems provide information about social services.

"If a family suddenly finds themselves homeless, they can call this number to find assistance," Williams said.

Cazanave and Williams both encouraged the youngsters to support these existing groups with food and clothing drives.

"Instead of thinking about raising money, think about raising things," Williams said. Homeless people can always use a good meal, and food pantries can always use more food, she said.

In addition, the homeless can always use personal care items, new clothes and fresh blankets.

The real goal, Williams said, is to help homeless people get back into homes.

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