When you hear the word “homeless” you may think about drug-addicted, mentally ill people sleeping on park benches or panhandling for money. But that class of desperate people now mostly consists of families pushed out of their homes by the economy, according to the head of a local agency that helps them.

Lake County commissioners have approved giving $770,000 to the Mid Florida Homeless Coalition to fight the battle. The agency is the conduit for state and federal funds for the homeless.

“This is going to help a lot,” said Barbara Venditto, the executive director for the four-county organization, which serves Lake, Sumter, Hernando and Citrus counties.

The money comes from the county’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, better known as the Covid disaster relief fund.

Venditto acknowledges that there is still what she calls the “stereotype” homeless people. “There always will be.” Her organization does a head count every year, but she said it is “really tough, especially with the passage of a new state law because they’re afraid of going to jail.”

A crackdown

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed House Bill 1364 into law, which prohibits people from camping out on sidewalks and in public places, like parks.

“Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” he said. “The legislation I signed today upholds our commitment to law and order while also ensuring homeless individuals have the resources they need to get back on their feet.”

Related coverage: Gov. DeSantis signs bill banning homeless from camping in public spaces

The Department of Children and Families can authorize temporary campsites and direct people to mental health and addiction health care facilities.

‘We weren’t trespassing’

Kathy Kelley and her companion Spencer Hall have found the rough life has gotten even rougher.

She said they had just finished a meal at a restaurant and were waiting in the parking lot for a ride when police showed up to trespass them from the property.

“Someone saw us there and called the police,” she said. “We weren’t trespassing.”

Their backpacks marked them, in someone’s mind, that they were homeless, therefore a nuisance.

“We’re not crazy people,” she said. “We’re not bad people.”

“Someone last week asked if I was homeless and I said, ‘No, but I might be next week.’ ”

She receives Social Security disability money. “We have money,” she said, but it’s difficult to find a place to live.

She said she had an apartment but had a dispute with the landlord, who had let the place fall into disrepair, so she was evicted.

They went from motel to motel because they did not have money for a deposit. Rental prices have also risen sharply. “You just can’t find a place,” she said.

They have found a room in Eustis, for now.

Meanwhile, they are finding that police are harder to deal with.

“You can’t stay in a park,” Hall said.

What’s the solution?

Homelessness solutions vary. The city of Tampa is betting $750,000 on the success of building nearly 99 tiny homes. The air-conditioned, 64-square-feet homes are designed to be transitional housing, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

But the biggest emphasis for the Mid Florida Homeless Coalition will be trying to keep people from sliding off the edge in the first place, and to bring back those families who are already in danger.

There are 136 such families in Lake County alone, Venditto said — triple the number last year — and the numbers are rising.

In April, 21 never-before-homeless families were added to the list.

“Of 16 different reasons why people are homeless, addiction and mental health are second and third from the bottom,” she said. The reason that cities like Philadelphia and Portland have such a big problem is that they have “massive drug addiction.” Law enforcement is so much better in Florida, she said.

The top reasons are financial loss, like losing a job; family members being asked to leave, sometimes because there is no space; and the loss of a relationship, like divorce or death.

Rapid rehousing

That’s where the “rapid rehousing project” steps in. Created by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, this program can help cash-strapped families put down a deposit and assist them with rent and furnishings, Venditto said.

She cited one example: A family, unable to keep up with mortgage payments, was facing foreclosure and legal costs. Their cost was suddenly four times the normal payment, but funds from the program allowed them to stay in their home. Their mortgage payment was $900 per month for a three-bedroom house. A rental would have cost them $1,300 to $1,500.

Families living paycheck to paycheck are especially vulnerable. If dad, for example, breaks his leg in an accident and can’t work for a month, the mother must suddenly work two part-time minimum wage jobs. Sometimes both parents must work two jobs, but one paycheck can’t cover daycare costs.

For families ending up living in their car, the new law restricts where it can be parked and requires that it be insured and registered.

Instead of being able to cook at home, they must now buy more expensive items. To use customer-only restrooms they must buy a $2.50 soft drink.

The rehousing program includes case managers who are heavily involved at first. They teach and monitor household budgeting, help develop life skills, line up vocational training and help pay rent and deposits.

Help with housing costs are decreased over a year’s time, from 100 percent to 25 percent, if needed.

Getting a place to live gives them an address, which is key to landing a decent job.

The need for affordable housing

“Demand for affordable housing is increasingly high in Central Florida for seniors and low-income families,” said Lake County government spokeswoman Sarah Lux.

Lake County has provided $3 million in American Recovery funding for three new affordable housing projects: New Beginnings, Hannah Grace Gardens and Habitat for Humanity.

The county uses the State Housing Initiatives Funding (SHIP) to enable income eligible residents to purchase homes while providing down payment assistance of up to $50,000 for first-time eligible buyers. The program also provides money for deposit, rent and utilities.

It also assists income eligible homeowners with demolition replacement of up to $225,000, or rehabilitation of up to $100,000 of existing homes for income qualified owners.

“The Lake County Housing Agency participates in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8) providing over 600 households with voucher assistance. Additionally, Lake County applied for and received Emergency Housing Vouchers, VASH (Veterans) Vouchers, and Permanent Supportive Housing Vouchers.” Lux said.

The need is growing and the challenges are steep.

“There are two primary challenges: availability of land for development and developers who are knowledgeable about the various programs available,” Lux said.

One possible solution might be to require developers to set aside a percentage of units for income-restricted affordable housing, she said.

That is the idea behind the state’s Live Local Act. A developer in Minneola announced plans in January to build apartments on 54 acres. Cities, with few exceptions, cannot impose restrictions on such things as rezoning, land-use changes, conditional uses and land-use. In return, the developer will have to dedicate 40 percent of the units as affordable housing.

Venditto said some builders take advantage of tax credits for affordable housing projects but it doesn’t offset the high costs of construction.

Many challenges

A recent USA Today story highlighted pandemic-related material and labor shortages, and a “flurry” of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes as the reason a Philadelphia developer shelved plans for a much needed 352-unit apartment complex. Three years earlier the project would have been considered “a no-brainer,” the article said.

Related coverage: High interest rates take growing toll as planned apartments, wind farms, shops are scrapped

Related coverage: New law aimed at boosting workforce housing gets a try in Minneola

Inflation, a shortage of affordable housing and high interest and mortgage rates have all worsened the homeless problem.

Venditto knows that the crisis has stretched the resources of nonprofits that are trying to help.

The Benevolence Center at the Leesburg Christian Care Center sees the effect the economy is having on its clients. The center, affiliated with First Baptist Church, moved into a new building last year so it could more efficiently hand out 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of food per month.

Among the thankful recipients on a recent day was a man named Donald who was disabled from a back injury. He was on Social Security disability and would soon get regular Social Security, but it would not be enough. He had an adult daughter that was moving back home.

“People talk about things going up 50%,” he said. “It’s more like 100%. People talk about being afraid that we’re going into a recession, but it feels like we’ve never left.”

The center also operates the Samaritan Inn, a shelter for homeless families and other services.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: A fight on multiple fronts: Reducing homelessness in Lake County