Homeless outreach update in North Port prompts questions about end of 211 line in Sarasota

NORTH PORT – North Port’s Homeless Outreach Team has documented contacts with 304 homeless individuals since it started compiling a tally in September 2020, including 10 in January, the most recent figure provided as part of an update provided to the City Commission in a Monday workshop.

The presentation by Police Capt. Scott King and Homeless Outreach Team members, Police Officer John Contorno and caseworker Jasmine Waltz detailed a variety of issues, ranging from the lack of emergency shelter beds in south Sarasota County to recent success stories of partner agencies helping people left homeless following Hurricane Ian.

In response to questions from the city commissioners they acknowledged two new challenges – the pending end of the 211 helpline, after Sarasota County pulled its funding last September; and possible state legislation that would prohibit counties and municipalities from allowing any sleeping or camping on public grounds without a permit.

That legislation would also require municipalities that did allow homeless camps on public property to provide restrooms and running water at those sites.

“Ultimately, depending on how this bill shakes out, in its final version it's gonna create an obligation on the part of municipalities and counties to address this problem,” Vice Mayor Phil Stokes said. “It’s going to cost us all money and effort to find a  solution in some way, shape or form to house these folks.”

Those bills are primarily aimed at municipalities that allow homeless camps to flourish on public land, which is not the case in North Port, where camps tend to occur on unoccupied private property.

“The majority of the camps are on undeveloped land or land behind businesses that are wooded,” King said. “We try to work with the business owners, if it’s private we will work with them to get a trespass warning, we will work with them to get them moved off that property and then we work with the city as well to remove whatever belongings (are) left on that property.”

A growing homeless population

Since the Youth and Community Services Division was created in September 2020, there have been a total of 304 homeless contacts, though a more concrete statistic is the number of referrals to the Homeless Outreach Team from road patrol officers, which is 119.

Waltz is in ongoing case management with six people and since 2020 the team has helped 53 people get housing.

Homeless counts are almost always problematic.

In 2023, the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness Point in Time survey – conducted over a 24-hour period in January, identified 1,150 people in Sarasota and Manatee counties, with 583 people in Sarasota County. 

The survey is meant to depict a snapshot of a community’s homeless population.

A majority of the homeless counted were in unincorporated Sarasota County, with 80 listed in the city of Sarasota, 11 in Venice, 19 in North Port and 43 in Englewood.

That was the first year that North Port homeless figures were logged separately from the rest of the county. Waltz submitted all 19 surveys for 2023.

For the 2024 account, which occurred on Jan. 29, Waltz completed 41 surveys and she noted, via email, that other Suncoast Partnership volunteers were circulating in the city, too.

Learning to fill in for 211

As part of their mission, the outreach team members have also helped 58 people who, while not homeless, needed help to ensure they could keep a roof over their heads.

“They’re looking for help with things like past-due mortgage or rent or utilities – things of that nature – and they don’t know where to go,” Waltz said. Team members will direct them to some local services but typically tell them to call the 211 line to find other services, too.

“In my experience, in the past, somebody would call 211, they would ask for their ZIP code and then they would just give them a list of resources,” Waltz said.

The 211 line helped almost 12,000 people in Sarasota County last year and offered nearly 19,000 referrals, according to the United Way Suncoast.

When that service ends April 1, Walz and her colleagues – as well as Homeless Outreach Team members in Sarasota County and the cities of Venice and Sarasota – won’t have that extra resource to offer.

“It’s going to mean, I’m guessing, us doing more of our homework to make sure we know what’s in this area,” Waltz said.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Future of 211 line services discussed at North Port homeless update