JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As rent prices rise across the state of Florida many residents simply can't afford to live in their apartments. Some parts of the state have seen 20-30% increases in rent, which has led some people to lose their homes.
The Jacksonville organization Changing Homelessness says that the key to preventing homelessness actually starts before people even move into their apartments. They say the sight of homeless people living on the street are very preventable.
"Every person's homelessness is solved with housing," says Dawn Gilman, CEO of Changing Homelessness.
Gilman adds that an increase in affordable housing options for people who work for the minimum living wage will lead to a rise in housing stability.
"As a community we have to decide how much we're going to invest in deeply affordable housing," says Gilman. "Homelessness is a description of someone's temporary housing status, there's nothing permanent about it."
Changing Homelessness currently utilizes federal grant money to help more than 400 families maintain a roof over their heads throughout Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. These grants are through Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Emergency Solutions Grant CV.
Gilman says that while the coronavirus pandemic has made the efforts of her team more difficult, their battle was going on long before covid hit.
"While we have been in 2 years of a pandemic, we've been in a decade of an affordable housing crisis."
Gilman hopes that increased funding for affordable building projects in northeast Florida will assist in the nearly 40 organizations like hers who help families avoid becoming homeless.
Organizations like Changing Homelessness operate with the help of grant money, but they also utilize volunteers and donations. Starting in January Changing Homelessness will open their volunteer portal for people who would like to offer assistance. Donations are also accepted through their website: changinghomelessness.org