Organizations are trying to fundraise to better serve the homeless population boom.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — Debi Redding stood on the five-acre campus of the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County in West Augustine Monday. She pointed to small 100-year-old homes that line Chapin Street. “We have 23 homes for homeless families that have minor children living in the household.”
However, “That isn’t enough. We need so much more,” she added. She is the Executive Director of the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns.
There is a growing demand to help homeless because the homeless population is growing in St. Johns County.
The Homeless Coalition aims to build sixteen more homes on its land in St. Augustine.
A different organization that is a drop-in center for homeless is Home Again St. Johns. It, too, is aiming to build a new center to handle the increasing demand for homeless services in the county.
The number of people without homes continues to climb in St. Johns County, according to the St. Johns County Continuum of Care. Based on the Point In Time County, last year there were 466 homeless people, compared to 349 in 2022.
“I will guarantee you it will be more than that when we do the count again in January,” Redding said.
Redding attributes the increase to St. Johns County’s popularity and overall population increase. “Everyone wants to come to St. Johns County because it is the place to be. It’s the healthiest. It’s beautiful. It has great weather. But along with that comes an increase in rent and in property values.”
Redding said the working class and people making minimum wage have been priced out of homes. “It’s really scary. The amount of people falling into homelessness because they can’t afford to be here.”
