2005 Report of Jacksonville/Duval and Clay Counties’

Homeless Population

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For the past 17 years, the Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville (ESHC) has conducted an annual census and survey to measure the number and needs of homeless individuals in Duval County. Clay County has been included in this endeavor since 2003. The data collected from the counts and survey are analyzed and utilized to assess and plan services for homeless people, and to develop the Continuum of Care (CoC) according to federal guidelines established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In more recent years two separate counting methods have been utilized to obtain an estimate of the number of homeless individuals living in the area. One count, which is mandated by HUD, is a point-in-time, one-day census in which homeless persons are enumerated on one given day. The other count, the one-year count, tallies each homeless individual who receives services within a one year time frame.

The one-day census was conducted on January 30, 2006. During the same day of the one-day census, the annual homeless survey was also conducted in Duval and Clay Counties. While not a federal requirement, this survey provides valuable information concerning the plight of homeless persons in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas to the ESHC, service providers, and the community as a whole. More than 70 volunteers, primarily University of North Florida (UNF) students, ESHC members, and service providers, went to homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities as well as the
streets in order to survey homeless individuals.

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