The number of homeless people in Gainesville rose to 2,094 this year.
To combat this number, the Gainesville/Alachua County Office of Homelessness will raise money through grants and organize community events to increase awareness, said Theresa Lowe, office director.
The office received awards, organized events and drafted plans for a Gainesville homeless marketplace, according to a quarterly report released by the office Monday.
The office received two Alachua County Community Agency Partnership Program awards, Lowe said. One worth $23,000 will go toward move-in expenses, the report said. The other, worth $2,000, will stock the pantries of people when they move into permanent housing.
The organization also applied for a TD Bank grant worth $100,000. The money will fund the Max Wells Veterans Transitional Housing Facility Project, which will provide transitional housing for 114 homeless veterans, the report said.
The 14th Annual Breakfast on the Plaza, sponsored by the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry, will be Oct. 25 to teach residents about services available to homeless people.
There will be breakfast for about 600 people made by volunteers from Bread of the Mighty, a Gainesville food pantry, Lowe said. There will also be 35 homeless service providers, like Meridian Behavioral Healthcare and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“It’s a really good way for people to connect to different services,” Lowe said, “ideally to get them into jobs and off the street.”
The report also had a letter to the Gainesville City Commission regarding the GRACE Marketplace, a homeless assistance center that will consolidate services in one place.
The marketplace, which will offer housing, food, medical and behavioral health services and job training, is not intended to be a homeless shelter, Lowe said.
“We’re really trying to bring the concept of a marketplace but targeted toward those who are homeless or facing homelessness,” Lowe said.
Lowe’s office looked to similar facilities across the country as models for the marketplace, she said.
She hopes it will allow Gainesville’s existing homeless service providers to work together, she said.
Kent Vann, executive director of the St. Francis House, said that in this economy, there are fewer people in the community to help and more people on the streets.
Because of this, he is optimistic about how the marketplace will help the community.
“Certainly one agency can’t serve everyone,” he said. “Any time you can provide more services to the community, that’s probably a better thing.”
Volunteer Lavonne Smoke prepares a food tray for the hungry at St. Francis House on Tuesday. Smoke said she tries to volunteer at the soup kitchen every day.
