TREASURE ISLAND — Acknowledging what is becoming a more visible issue even in upscale beach communities, Treasure Island commissioners endorsed creating a nonprofit homeless intervention foundation to provide alternatives to those who live on the streets.
In a report to the City Commission, Fire Chief William Barrs noted that since 2018 the fire and police departments have been making concerted efforts at providing meaningful interventions for the city’s homeless population. “The number of homeless has remained constant at 10 to 12 over the years, despite our interventions and the successes that we have had in returning at least a dozen homeless persons to more stable situations,” the chief said.
During a Jan. 18 work session, Police Chief John Barkley told commissioners because they cannot trespass on private property, most homeless are now very visible along Gulf Boulevard. Unless they break the law, they cannot be arrested. However, if they are arrested, such as for being drunk and disorderly, most of the time they are back out of the street in a couple of hours. “Recidivism is 100 percent,” Barkley said.
He told commissioners police are constantly asked, “Why are they allowed to hang out here?”
His answer is that “several individuals chose to live that lifestyle. We take people to jail every single day, sometimes inebriated. We’re trying to find long-term solutions.”
The root causes of homelessness are mental health and substance abuse issues, Barkley said. “We’ve had about a dozen success stories getting people off the street. We don’t see those folks any more, but their slots seem to backfill and we have a dozen more.”
The Police and Fire Department’s current Life Intervention Focus Team, or LIFT, tries to get the homeless in social service and substance abuse programs, but the one thing they need most is a social worker that can get them assistance much quicker, the police chief said. However, hiring a social worker would be too expensive for a city the size of Treasure Island to undertake alone.
“For this reason, we propose the creation of a nonprofit foundation that will be tasked with obtaining funding and providing social services through partnerships, consultation with professional providers and other resources that may exist,” the fire chief added in his report.
He said a concerned citizen has offered to donate $10,000 as seed money to form the foundation.
City administration and the fire and police departments “have collaborated to prepare this request that would result in the formation of a nonprofit foundation that will eventually be led by citizens with oversight by the police and fire chiefs,” Barrs said.
“Our fire and police departments are not designed to, nor are they funded to provide social services for our most vulnerable residents,” Barr told commissioners. “The proposed foundation will help the city address these unmet needs, by providing the structure and guidance for a citizen-led foundation to have positive impacts on our community through outreach and support for our residents in need of long-term intervention and support. Staff feels that this is the next step in formalizing the interventions that are currently being done through the city’s Life Intervention Focus Team.”
By creating the LIFT Foundation and turning it over to commission-appointed citizens, “we are empowering citizens to take on issues that they desire to see addressed,” he said.
The city would continue to provide guidance to the foundation in an advisory role, but will not undertake specific interventions unless directed to do so by the commission and city manager, Barr said. “The foundation would be responsible for securing social services to include substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling and other professional services, emergency and sustainable housing and other items that may help to address homelessness.”
Commissioner Saleene Partridge noted other cities are also trying to deal with the issue and many homeless people regularly travel up and down Gulf Boulevard. She suggested perhaps other communities would be willing to share the cost of a hiring a social worker and offer “long-term solutions to a very, very, difficult issue.”
Mayor Tyler Payne added that homelessness is “certainly one of the most frequently brought up issues. It’s difficult to explain that we are working diligently and we are doing what we can. This is a wonderful next step to address a growing problem across the country.”
Commissioners endorsed the plan to get the homeless foundation off the ground.