JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The homeless camp on Jefferson Street in downtown Jacksonville is growing, city officials said. The Mayor announced the Pathway to Home program in January and moved 48 people from the Jefferson site to hotels on Monday, February 8th.
The city said as word spread about the program, more people moved to the Jefferson site. A representative said, the people are still native to Northeast Florida and are not new to the area, but rather traveled there from other spots in the city.
The ongoing project, which is funded through Cares Act dollars, started last April. Since then, the city said it has helped 248 people with a temporary hotel and eventually find permanent housing.
The most recent round targeted street homelessness on Jefferson and specifically people with underlying conditions who would be at a higher risk for COVID-19.
There’s currently 121 families in hotels, which includes the 48 people helped last week. The city said all rooms are currently booked and they cannot move more people until some of the rooms free up after people find permanent housing.
“I would like to see them actually get hotels and get them out of here. I’ve got people who are diabetic who shouldn’t even be out here,” Dennis Henry said. He volunteers at the camp after living there himself for four years.
The city did not say a possible timeline for when the next round of help could come to those facing homelessness on Jefferson. They did say it is available to anyone who is homeless, not just people living downtown.
Cox Media Group
