The homeless population in Alachua County and the region significantly dropped over the last year a clear sign that efforts to get them into housing is working, officials said.
The homeless population in the county dropped 21% in the survey of the population from Jan. 26 through Jan. 31. It took longer than normal to get the results due to the pandemic.
Officials said while more people are getting permanent housing, more government money is needed to support those efforts.
The latest Point in Time (PIT) survey results released Monday by the North Central Florida Alliance for the Homeless and Hungry shows there were 521 people in Alachua County who were homeless during the most recent count, down from 657 the year before.
Clinic will be free, schedule to come
The exact times of the stops will be set after the plan is reviewed by lawyers and signed, city officials said.
The program provides UF undergraduate, medical, physician assistant and other health professions students with hands-on experience.
“I’m really excited to do this in East Gainesville because I know that there is a real hunger and desire to take control of health care,” Grant Harrell, the clinic s medical director, said last Thursday.
Harrell said the mobile clinics, in addition to offering services like prescribing medications and health screenings, assign “care coordinators” to help patients implement their health care plans, which is more important to a person’s health than clinic visits.
Home/Florida Good/The Dream Defenders Offered A Mic To The Community Through Its Newest Installation, The Listening Project
The Dream Defenders Offered A Mic To The Community Through Its Newest Installation, The Listening Project
By Valerie Izquierdo
April 20, 2021
A listening booth was stationed at the Civic Media Center Library location in downtown Gainesville. “It is a heavily gentrified area,” Karine Dieuvil said, adding that that’s one of several reasons for the downtown area having many homeless people. The CMC is also where most of the Dream Defenders’ operations are planned and executed. (Valerie Izquierdo/WUFT News)
A new installation across Gainesville gave people this month a chance to step in a room and unravel their stories of hardships and concerns within their neighborhoods.