Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry

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Office Address:
Jim Wright, Director
Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry
703 NE 1st Street
PO Box 5494
Gainesville, FL 32627-5494

Email Address:
achomeless@yahoo.com

Phone: (352) 378-0460
Fax: (352) 373-4097

Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry

Facts About Ending Homelessness

  1. We know what works: supportive housing and support services.
  2. One bed and support services for one individual in a homeless shelter costs $8,700 per year.
  3. Housing subsidies that can help a family of four stay in stable housing cost $3,600 per year.
  4. Homeless people cost the health care system $2,414 more per hospitalization than people who have stable housing.
  5. Providing homeless people with preventive care could save the Gainesville health care system approximately $3 million annually in unnecessary ER visits.
  6. Preventive care provided through the One Stop Center would cost less than $20 per visit, compared to the more than $700 it costs to serve a homeless person in an ER.
  7. Criminal justice costs (such as enforcing local laws and processing homeless individuals through jail and the courts) related to homelessness top $1 million per year.
  8. There are 10,000 working families in Alachua County making less than 30% of the median income in this area ($20,357 per year), putting them at risk for losing their housing. A significant number of these families spend over one third of their income on housing.
  9. A two bedroom apartment in Alachua County costs approximately $740 per month. In order to pay for this, a person must earn close to $15/hour. A minimum wage worker needs to work 84 hours a week to afford such an apartment.
  10. The wait list for public housing is 36 to 48 months.
  11. By 2009, Alachua County will have 11 times more empty apartments than homeless people. The problem is not a lack of housing options, but a lack of affordable housing.

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