What's so special about 1974

I'm often amazed at how our paths in life can lead us to where we're needed most. Back in 1974, as faith leaders and citizens in downtown Jacksonville gathered to tackle the challenges of homelessness—I was a young child in Toledo, Ohio, either starting school or wrapping up kindergarten.

Fast forward to 2001, the year Changing Homelessness was incorporated, and my life had taken on a new shape. By then, I had moved to Jacksonville, was happily married, working in the public relations department of a mortgage company, and dedicating time to volunteer for JCCI Forward.

However, when the mortgage industry faced significant challenges, my career trajectory shifted unexpectedly, steering me towards a role where I could truly make an impact. This twist in my journey wasn't something I planned, but it has filled my work with purpose and passion.

I'm grateful for the unexpected turns that have led me here, and I'm excited to continue working alongside such a dedicated community to make a difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness.

Reflecting on our journey at Changing Homelessness and the tremendous impact of those who paved the way, I'm inspired to honor pioneers like Virgl Green and I.M. Sulzbacher. Their visionary leadership in the late '80s and early '90s set the foundation for what we strive to accomplish every day—ending homelessness.

From its inception as the Emergency Services Homeless Coalition and its evolution into Changing Homelessness, this organization has stood at the forefront of innovative solutions. A notable milestone was our collaboration with the City to establish the Jacksonville Homeless Campus and Resource Center, now known as the Sulzbacher Center.

As a staunch advocate of the "fail-forward" philosophy, I am committed to testing innovative solutions and speaking with both compassion and conviction about our mission. We are the voices of our unhoused neighbors, a responsibility I embraced wholeheartedly when I joined the agency in 2007.

In 2009, our participation in the 100,000 Homes Campaign revealed profound insights. Through rigorous, early morning efforts, we learned the critical importance of timing and vulnerability in effectively housing our most at-risk neighbors—a lesson that remains vividly ingrained in my memory.

Building on these experiences, we successfully secured a $1 million grant to house veterans, leveraging our past success managing the Homeless Prevention and Rapid

Rehousing program during the great recession. This grant has since expanded significantly, reaching 17 coastal counties and growing from $1 million to $12 million, reducing veteran and chronic homelessness by over 50%.

Embracing an all-inclusive strategy at Changing Homelessness, we recognize and value the diverse focus of various agencies—whether they assist veterans, young adults, families or whomever. This diversity is essential, but so too is our collective effort to integrate services into a cohesive, community-wide solution where we can offer a variety of housing options, such as tiny homes, container homes, micro-apartments, duplexes, and quads.

Consider the example of Duval County, where we identify 600 different unhoused individuals—each representing a unique household with distinct housing needs. To effectively address the needs of these 600 households, our response must not only be comprehensive in scope but also deeply human-centered, ensuring that our solutions are as varied and dynamic as the people we serve.

Today, we continue to build on the foundation laid by our community and enhance our systems to support every unhoused neighbor. And we must remember one a vital truth: not everyone can afford housing on their current incomes. We must confront this challenge head-on, ensuring that no one is forced to live on our sidewalks or underpasses.

As we plan for the future, I am determined to leverage our national recognition to galvanize local support. Nonprofits may be founded on dreams, but we operate on cash. We are grateful for the local, state and federal support we receive, manage and utilize to help our unhoused neighbors, but grant funding doesn’t cover all the expenses.

More than ever, we need community support to help continue our work for another 50 years.

If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here for you:

1. Learn more about Changing Homelessness.

2. Donate $50 for 50 years today ~ and you can make it a monthly donation.

3. Join us for a 50th anniversary celebration hosted by NFL Hall of Famer, LeRoy Butler, Thursday, June 20th at The Jessie. Learn more. Sponsor the event. Buy tickets.

We are striving to create a community where all of our neighbors have a house, a key to their front door, a comfortable chair, and a kitchen of their own—because everyone deserves a place to call home.

Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your time with me today.

Together, we can make a difference.