Chuck Oliva
The Coalition for the Homeless does an incredible job all year long providing care for our vulnerable population of people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is one of those problems that seems too big to wrap your arms around. This population is often seen as “needing everything,” and one is left wondering where to start. Well, the Coalition for the Homeless starts by doing what they can. If you just think about what people need you realize pretty quickly that, often, each thing that you work on providing – a warm meal, a place to congregate and socialize, a shower, the opportunity to do your laundry – is a wonderful act of compassion that doesn’t require the participation of huge, unwieldy programs. The Coalition for the Homeless is staffed with hard-working volunteers who understand that these interventions make a huge difference in the day-to-day lives of this population.
The Coalition provides emergency shelter, food assistance, job application assistance, housing assistance, and case management services to those in need. They provide cold-night shelter when the temperature dips below 42 degrees. Their Day Drop-in Center provides a safe, compassionate and supportive environment in which people who are experiencing homelessness are able to access appropriate services and resources. The Coalition works to coordinate care through a wide variety of local service agencies, such as Micha’s Place, Gracie’s Kitchen, the Families in Transit Program, Journey Church, Family Support Services of Northeast Florida, and many others. Serving as a referral agency, they link those in need with the programs most suited to that need.
Recently, I attended the grand opening celebration of the Coalition for the Homeless’ new acquisition of a RV. This RV will allow them to extend the valuable services that they offer to the people in the western part of the county, making scheduled stops in Hilliard and Callahan. The RV is equipped with two showers and a washer/dryer. Over cookies and Gatorade, I spoke with several of the dedicated volunteers that keep this valuable organization running. I met a woman who told me that she was, currently, the only driver available to drive the RV, and that they were looking for at least one additional driver to take a couple of shifts during the week. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Coalition for the Homeless at chnassau.com.
The Coalition for the Homeless of Nassau County was organized in 2006 by a group of concerned citizens and became a 501(c)(3) organization in 2008. The coalition is headed by local real estate agent, Carlene McDuffie, and staffed with dozens of volunteers who devote their time preparing meals, packing lunches, and sometimes just sitting and chatting with people who, are all too often, not heard.
Of course, the missing piece in all of this outreach is a permanent shelter. Having a permanent site in a fixed location (such as a repurposed motel) allows for the supportive housing that has been shown to be the most effective way to address chronic homelessness. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, supportive housing is an intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of chronically homeless people. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect people with community-based health care, treatment and employment services. The Coalition for the Homeless has been working toward a permanent shelter for some time. But it will, of course, take money. Spending public and private money on permanent supportive housing is the best and most stabilizing way to address the needs of the chronically homeless. There really is no more effective way to meet the short and long term needs of this population. Permanent supportive housing is a cost-effective solution, shown to lower public costs associated with the use of crisis services such as shelters, hospitals, jails and prisons.
The Coalition for the Homeless of Nassau County will be planning events throughout the coming holiday season. There will be a Thanksgiving event called Open Table of Thankfulness and Love Thursday, Nov. 28, 9-11 a.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. A National Homeless Remembrance Vigil will be held on Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m. on the courthouse steps. And a Christmas Morning Brunch will be held at the Memorial United Methodist Church from 9-11 a.m. Lastly, the holiday giving season is a great time to donate to the Coalition for the Homeless. If you can, please visit chnassau.com and give what you can. These people really do so much with so little, so you know that your contribution will help as many people as possible.
Chuck Oliva was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He has worked in market research for most of his adult life, using verbatim text analysis to report on social and consumer trends for some of the largest companies in the world. He and his wife retired to Fernandina Beach in 2016 where they spend most of their time reading on the beach. He is also a banjo and trumpet owner – though he can play neither. Chuck Oliva can be contacted at chuckoliva7@gmail.com.