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Pensacola's homeless solution includes tiny shelters

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Pensacola's homeless solution includes tiny shelters

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The City of Pensacola is seeking local service providers who would be willing to construct small, temporary city-provided housing on its property.

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves has previously announced that he plans to use approximately $1 million in unencumbered American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase small, semi-permanent shelters that will be strategically placed throughout the community can be used to increase the available housing stock in order to rescue people from street distress.

Reeves said during a regular news conference Tuesday that he is directing the Northwest Florida Homelessness Reduction Task Force to survey local service providers about whether they would be willing to install shelters on their properties and what specific configurations of shelters would best serve their clients .

The announcement came on the same day that a new Florida law, House Bill 1365, went into effect. The bill would require local governments and municipalities to prohibit sleeping or camping on public lands.

Reeves said the intent of the semi-permanent housing is to provide an effective housing solution that also quickly brings the city into compliance with the new law.

“Arresting us to get out of homelessness is not going to solve our problem,” Reeves said. “Getting the additional unit release valve to come online much quicker than a long process is the real reason I moved away from the low barrier shelter we were talking about.”

Reeves was previously interested in using the funds to start a low-barrier homeless shelter, but that idea was taken off the table earlier this year when a report from Jon DeCarmine, executive director of GRACE Marketplace in Gainesville, showed startup costs would be between $2.19 and $3.47 million.

“I believe in the low-barrier shelter model, but given the cost, it can’t be solved quickly enough,” Reeves said. “I felt like this was a way for us to solve the idea of ​​supply – when you're on the street and you say, 'Hey, I want to go somewhere, but I can't go anywhere,' then we can be quick.” “Being able to increase the supply of units of this type that maybe someone who has been through a program and is willing to live alone in their own building… can do that.”

Asked how much emergency shelter the city could provide with $1 million, Reeves said the cost to install a 70-square-foot, one-person unit would be about $20,000, and that it would be two-person -Units exist that are slightly more expensive. He said the city issued a request for proposals that would allow it to achieve the most competitive prices across the board.

However, he noted that shelters are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and that is one of the reasons he surveys nonprofits to find out what types of structures would be most beneficial to their client base. Are they women with children who need several rooms? Are there toilets and showers on site? Is there a lot of land for units but few clerks to manage them or vice versa?

Pensacola's plan for ARPA funds: Pensacola's homeless relief plan and new zoning plans are funded with federal money

“The beauty of this is that once these funds are utilized, we can determine as needed,” Reeves said. “Maybe there are eight that can fit two people in this place, and there are 10 that can fit one person in this place. So the RFP will give us that flexibility, which is what I really like about it, which is that we're not just going to say, “Bring us 50 of these and let's hope it works.” We can customize that depending on the recipient and adapt.”

Reeves said the units could be built in a few hours and delivered to the city via direct shipping. He added that once the ARPA funds are exhausted, the city has two years to use them, although Reeves said he doesn't intend to wait that long.

“Our goal would be as soon as someone is ready for them, we know we can take them. We drop them there,” Reeves said of the units. “So I expect that in the coming months we will have – maybe not all – but at least some of these units. Whoever is willing to host them, we will have them there.”

Reeves said the buildings would remain city property and would likely be rented to nonprofits for free or for $1 a year. They could be reclaimed and misplaced if a service provider fails or the program does not work.

He also said a key part of the initiative will be case management so that people moving into the homes have the best chance of success.

“You can’t just have unity. You have to be able to maintain this unit, right? I mean, whoever is in there needs to continue to work with them because the goal is not just to find the place, but to get them out of that place and then into a home somewhere,” Reeves said. “So you can’t just put them somewhere without case management and expect the result.”

The mayor noted that a key caveat to the ARPA funds is that any property designated for a homelessness solution cannot devalue the surrounding property, which he said is a challenge for the city due to its limited footprint.

He said properties in the county would likely be a better fit if zoning allows, and said the city has already had some discussions with the county on the issue.

Reeves said his goal is to encumber ARPA funds for the project by Dec. 31

“Once that happens, we'll deliver some on January 5th, February 5th or March 5th or, you know, whenever people are ready.”

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