by Beth Slater
Staff Writer
Like most of northeast Florida, the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless is expanding, and that’s a good thing. Trucks roll by on the campus, moving dirt to make room for the new medical/administration building, while the walls of the new children’s center go up and the structure begins to take shape.
The expansion means the homeless center can better serve more guests in a bigger environment. Sherry Burns, the center’s president and CEO, said both facilities will meet a critical need.
“This is a homeless center, not just a shelter,” she said. “We’ve had numbers as high as 100 children and we average 80 here with their parents or single parents.
“The children are in tight quarters in the main building. They need room for homework, for scouts — we have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts here — and we have Tae Kwon Do classes. The dining rooms are meeting rooms and they’re always in demand.” Burns added that the center wants to give the children space in a place away from the main building, “where they can move in a kid-like atmosphere.”
“The children’s center will give us space for the activities we need to provide as good a childhood experience as we can create. There’s nothing normal” about living in a homeless center, said Burns, “but we want to make it as pleasant as possible.”
As for the medical building, it will double the number of patients seen by physicians. The current medical center has three exam rooms and a small waiting area, while the dental facility is housed off-campus.
The medical and administration building will include six medical exam rooms, six dental exam rooms, a classroom and space for eye and psychiatric exams. The space for eye exams is important because currently, eye exams are done in medical exam rooms one day a week and essentially close down medical exams that day, Burns said.
“Last year we provided 29,000 services at the clinic,” said Burns. Between 10,000 and 11,000 patients were seen and they, on average, have 2.5 visits each among the different services, she said.
The medical clinic is open to low-income families, not just guests of the center, so more people than just those occupying the 300 Sulzbacher beds seek treatment.
“The clinic has always been part of the Sulzbacher Center,” said Burns. “It’s one of two federally-funded clinics in Jacksonville and the only one affiliated with a homeless center in Florida.”
Burns also said many physicians volunteer their services at the clinic and the center employs a full-time family physician and medical staff to meet medical, dental and psychiatric needs.
The administrative offices, presently located in a separate building, will move in to the second floor of the medical building and all of the center’s vacated space has been claimed without the first room being emptied.
“The space is already spoken for and we already don’t have enough space,” said Burns. “We’ll be able to have more life skills classes, [Alcoholics Anonymous] and [Narcotics Anonymous] meetings.”
Burns said the clinic area will go to the donations department, which in its current location has a “creative” use of space with hanging shelves, Burns said.
“We’ll take advantage of that space, no problem,” she said.
Preparation for expansion has lasted longer than expected because of the great number of permits the center had to apply for, based on its location.
“Since we’re nested under overpasses, it could be a problem,” said Burns. All that permitting led to increased costs and fundraising is ongoing, although a capital campaign has thus far brought in $3.2 million of the $3.5 million needed to construct both buildings.
“We should see the childrens’ center complete this fall. The medical building, barring any issues, should be complete in late fall or early winter, 2006,” said Burns.
According to information provided by the Sulzbacher Center, the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the following are things you can do to help the homeless:
1. Make eye contact and say “hello” to homeless persons. They often feel invisible and worthless. Let them know that they are still important.
2. Contribute a dollar or more every month on your bill to JEA’s Neighbor to Neighbor program to provide assistance to a family in danger of losing its utility service.
3. Give people information about shelters and soup kitchens when they ask you for money or a handout.
4. Volunteer in a soup kitchen or shelter, or help in the construction of a Habijax home.
5. Tell your legislators and local elected officials that our community needs more affordable housing and child care.
6. Donate clothes, toys, books and household items to charity that are clean, practical and still usable. (Charities incur unnecessary costs to haul away unusable items.)
7. Hire a homeless person if you own or manage a business. Remember that he or she may need patience, extra support and mentoring.
8. Do not give money to panhandlers. They may not be homeless or even poor. Give them information about shelters and soup kitchens.
9. Do not attack the person. Attack the problem of homelessness in the community.
10. Do not be afraid of homeless persons. Each one of them is somebody’s child.