Draft for 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness Almost Complete

The county’s 10-year plan to end homelessness is nearing a final draft.

Just nine months ago, prompted by Sarasota County Government, Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness began a community initiative to develop a plan to prevent and end homelessness in Sarasota County.

After five months of , more than 600 community members have contributed a wealth of knowledge and proposed solutions, a news release said.

“We’re setting ambitious but achievable goals,” said the  in a news release. “If we are to achieve excellence in our mission, community members from across Sarasota County need to be engaged. Everyone is both an ambassador for the plan and stakeholder in its success.”

Martin tapped Florida Journeys Communications to develop and create a brand identity for the 10-year plan. The result, “Step Up: End Homelessness in Sarasota County Now.”

“Our goal was to shine a positive light on a challenging subject and create a brand that is uplifting and inclusive,” said Caroline McKeon, owner of Florida Journeys Communications, in the release.

To assist Suncoast Partnership in assembling the data and developing cost-effective implementation strategies, Avoir Faire Consulting Agency, a Sarasota-based firm, is working with the leadership team to write the plan and see it through to formal adoption.

“Step Up is truly a community plan,” said Sarah Shumaker, Avoir Faire’s President and CEO. “We’ve engaged the public through workshops and focus groups. We’ve toured regional facilities and studied other plans to end homelessness across the nation.”

According to the news release, the leadership team is working closely with the National Alliance to End Homelessness as well as federal and state agencies, the news release said. “We know what works,” Shumaker said. “With this plan, Sarasota County has the potential to become a model community that others look to for best practices.”

While the mission of Step Up is to end homelessness in Sarasota County, the plan acknowledges homelessness as a symptom of poverty and extends initiatives to address the cause of homelessness at its core. The plan’s vision states:

“Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. In Sarasota County, we have the capacity to prevent and end homelessness and improve the health, safety, and quality of life for every citizen. Stakeholders from across the county will unite to establish best practices, identify funding, and form community partnerships to end homelessness and break the cycle of poverty in Sarasota County.”

According to the partnership, Step Up: End Homelessness in Sarasota County Now is in final draft development and currently being shopped to key stakeholders for feedback on the plan’s five objectives. 

1. Streamline systems countywide to develop, fund, implement and monitor programs for homelessness, poverty and economic stability.
2. Raise public awareness and funding to meet the immediate needs of individuals who are experiencing homelessness now.
3. Establish community-wide emergency intervention programs to stabilize housing and prevent homelessness for individuals and families at risk.
4. Implement proactive, cost-effective housing strategies to create “steps” that continually move individuals and households along the housing continuum toward permanent and affordable housing.
5. Cultivate economic stability by creating “steps” toward self-sufficiency, permanent housing, and financial stability.

Step Up: End Homelessness in Sarasota County Now will be released to the public on Wednesday, Dec. 21, the date of the Longest Night Homeless Memorial Vigil.

While under development, the website www.stepupsarasota.org is counting down to that event.

A 30-day comment period will follow the public release of Step Up to ensure the community will and support is behind in the plan before presenting it to the county and municipal governments for adoption.

“We’re still meeting with community partners and shopping it to key stakeholders to ensure everyone’s voice is represented,” Martin said in the release. “If you haven’t come to us, we’ll come to you.”