by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Audrey Moran remembers the moment as if it was yesterday and her voice starts cracking almost immediately. Three-and-a-half years ago, she was the interim president of the Sulzbacher Center for the homeless. A particular guest was mentally ill.
“All he did was walk around and say ‘Respect the green shirts.’ He was referring to the people that worked here,” said Moran, adding he was emphatic about the point of basically screaming it.
The guest got on medication.
“The last day I was here, someone came up behind me and said, ‘Mrs. Moran, can I carry that box for you?’ He was a totally different person,” said Moran.
Today, Moran is back at the Sulzbacher Center where she’s president and CEO. It’s been less than a month since she took over for the retired Sherry Burns. She’s still learning the names of the nearly 120 people it takes to run the center and every hour of every day presents its own set of challenges.
An attorney by trade, Moran seems to revel in the spontaneity. Throughout a morning tour with Moran and COO/VP of Finance Greg Watts — who left the private sector after 18 years — she spends most of her time alternating between greeting employees and guests, beaming with pride over changes and improvements and on the verge of tears when describing the good the center does and the level of corporate involvement in Jacksonville.
Take the William and Francis Barnett Children’s Building for instance. Two years ago, the children of the Sulzbacher Center got to play, read, draw and color on the equivalent of one foldout table. Today, there’s an entire center complete with a computer lab, library, play room and playground. The kids come to the children’s center while their parents are at work or at Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
“They are so happy to come to a place like this,” said Moran, explaining how the funding for the center came almost exclusively from the private sector. “It makes you believe in humanity again. This could not be done without the companies of Northeast Florida having a heart for the homeless.”
While the children’s building and the medical center are practically brand new, there are reminders of why the Sulzbacher Center exists all over the place. Funding issues still dictate that many of the center’s new guests stay in military-like quarters. There are 146 bunk beds — courtesy of Cecil Field — that fill a room just bigger than a basketball court. Some are occupied at 11 a.m. All will be occupied tonight. They are homeless, but not hopeless. Everyone is assigned a case worker and given distinct goals and objectives and chores. Work here or work elsewhere, but the Sulzbacher Center isn’t a free ride.
One guest, however, isn’t motivated Tuesday morning. He’s sprawled across the length of a bench, asleep.
“There’s a whole population that won’t come inside. They are terrified,” said Moran. “Our Hope Team goes out two times a day to provide food, water and blankets. Eventually, we hope we’ll gain their trust and they’ll come inside.”
What many find inside today isn’t the Sulzbacher of yesterday. The bunks have replaced yellow rectangles on the floor, a new laundry facility runs 24 hours-a-day (something that contributes mightily to the Sulzbacher’s monthly $3,500 water and $11,000 to $12,000 electric bills), new housing for upwards of 80 guests a night, a medical facility that rivals most private clinics and a staff that simply seems to love what they do.
The guests run the gamut of society. There are the single mothers and drug addicts. But, there are others. Moran said 60 percent of the homeless families are from Jacksonville and 80 percent are from Florida.
“These are our neighbors,” she said. “There’s no such thing as the typical homeless person.”
“We have had lawyers, athletes, engineers,” said Watts.
The Sulzbacher Center may be a refuge for the needy, but it is also a calling for the professional looking for the “next thing.” Moran was chief of staff under former Mayor John Delaney and Watts spent 18 years with Crowley Maritime. The logistics company began downsizing and worked with Watts. His wife works for Hope Haven and they have a son with Down syndrome. Watts was familiar with the non-profit world and was actually looking for a job in which he could help others.
“The non-profit world was not a new experience. Money was not a factor,” said Watts, who sent a resume to Burns. “She called and said ‘How much do you want?’”
Watts convinced Burns to at least meet before taking the offer much further. After all, he was just a piece of paper at the time. He started a year ago yesterday.
“Gary has been a blessing. He has brought his expertise and training and his business perspective to really important work,” said Moran.
As we part, we share a laugh about the most popular lunch day at the center. It doesn’t happen often, but when Chef Kevin is preparing ox tail soup, apparently word spreads quickly. The 350 for lunch can become 500 or more. None of us are interested. But, for those who do show, they get a chance to see a modern version of the Sulzbacher Center and Moran, Watts and the rest get to try and convince people to change their lives.