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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 Homelessness in Alachua
- There are over 1,300 men, women and children in Alachua who face any given night without a home. Just over one third (500+) are children under the age of 18.
- Only one in ten homeless people are chronically homeless. For the majority, it is a temporary situation usually refereed to as “transitional homelessness.” Six out of ten have been homeless for less than a year.
- Alachua County Jail houses more homeless individuals on any given night than any other single institution.
- Although the majority of homeless people are men, one in four homeless women is homeless because of domestic violence.
- Men who are homeless are more likely than women or children to report staying overnight in the woods or on the street.
- One in three homeless people have some form of employment, ranging from full-time work to contract work.
- Homelessness in Gainesville is due to: unemployment (30%), underemployment, addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, medical problems, divorce, separation or release from an institution with nowhere to go.
- There are only 350 beds for homeless individuals available on any given night, leaving 650 people (including children) without a place to sleep.
- One in five homeless persons were born and raised in this area. One in three has lived here for more than 10 years.
- Just over half the homeless in our area have spent more than a year without permanent housing.
- Four out of ten homeless in Alachua County served in the U.S. Military.
- One in four homeless individuals suffer from some form of mental illness, including depression.
- One in four homeless individuals have a physical disability.
- Four percent of arrests in Alachua County are of homeless individuals.
- Homelessness is not just a burden for the homeless. Taxpayers bear the cost of last ditch solutions such as nights in jail.
- 200 local volunteers and professionals from all walks of life contributed to the 10 year plan to end homelessness.
- Alachua County and Gainesville are one of only 200 cities nationwide to develop a 10 year plan to end homelessness.
