As our community continues to face a tight economy and shrinking budgets, the Daily Record has established this page that will each week chronicle the efforts of local nonprofit organizations. Bailey Publishing & Communications invites all members of the local nonprofit community to submit news, announcements, success stories and any other information they believe would be of interest to our readers. Email to: [email protected]. We encourage our readers to become more aware of the needs of these worthy organizations as they continue to provide much-needed services with reduced resources.
Billboard campaign will focus on homeless veterans
Over the next month, drivers in Northeast Florida will see a new advertising campaign designed to raise awareness about veteran homelessness.
A rotating set of three billboards bearing the headline "Vets Deserve Better" complement the launch of a new landing page for a program that can provide help for local veterans.
The new page, HomesForOurBrave.com, provides critical information about Supportive Services for Veteran Families, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program administered by the Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of Northeast Florida.
Through this program, homeless or at-risk veterans and their families in Clay, Duval and Nassau counties may receive services such as case management, temporary financial assistance for rent and other living expenses, assistance for transportation, housing counseling and referrals to community agencies.
The coalition received $1.78 million by the Department of Veteran Affairs to provide prevention and rapid re-housing services, and has applied for an additional $5 million to continue its efforts.
"We are committed to the goal of ending veteran homelessness by December 2015," said says Marti Johnson, director of the program for the coalition.
The images on the billboards showcase the duality that plagues homeless veterans by contrasting military imagery with disheveled veterans of different races, ages, and genders.
The military images, which are seen in the shadows behind each veteran, represent the
service each person made in his or her past while highlighting the disparity between the honor of military service and the disgrace of life on the street.
Davidson Cares presents grants to schools
Davidson Cares, the nonprofit organization of Davidson Realty Inc., presented grants to several St. Johns County public schools, including Mill Creek, Wards Creek and Palencia elementary schools, and Pacetti Bay Middle School. Each school received $1,000 to be to be used for activities, technology and books. An additional check for $500 was presented to Laura Teifer at Pacetti Bay for her anti-bullying efforts.
Additional bonus grants will be awarded in May based on the number of votes for videos submitted by the schools to DavidsonCares.com.
This year's top vote earner was Mill Creek, which will receive 35 percent of the remaining proceeds from Davidson Cares' fundraising efforts for 2013 and 2014. The three other schools will receive the remainder of the funds based on amount of votes.
Davidson Cares offers support through grants to several St. Johns County public schools through fundraising events and activities. Learn more about Davidson Cares by visiting the company's website.
Children's Home Society honoring five advocates
The Children's Home Society of Florida is honoring five advocates today for their service.
The honorees are:
• Child Advocate of the Year: Michael D. Aubin
• Public Official of the Year: Jacksonville City Councilman Don Redman
• Corporate Citizen of the Year: Acosta Sales & Marketing
• Foster Parent of the Year: Vanessa Austin
• Volunteers of the Year: Donald and Mary Riggle
The event is at noon today at the Children's Home Society of Florida, 3027 San Diego Road.
Nearly three dozen graduating from LifePoint
Thirty-three young Jacksonville men and women will step into the world of work from St. John's Episcopal Cathedral on Friday, armed with skills and technical savvy to start careers in the health care and hospitality industries.
As graduates of FreshMinistries' LifePoint program, 16 have been working the past 10 weeks to learn entry level skills as desk clerks, housekeepers and other positions at area hotels and motels. The course prepares students for the hotel and lodging certification exam.
The other 17 have trained for eight weeks as nursing assistants and will soon take the state examination for certification. The course familiarizes students with relationships among body systems, disease, illness and patient treatment plans, patient observations, and nursing skills.
"LifePoint is one of the ways we are helping to eradicate poverty in our city, "said the Rev. Robert V. Lee III, founder and chief executive of FreshMinistries, a faith-based, nonprofit with offices at 1131 N. Laura St.
Hospitality graduates are Stephanie Brinson, Tommie Byrd, Tammyett Campbell, Tony Carr, Dimonica Carter, James DeWitt, Turia Frazier, Cynthia Gibbs, Joyce Gooden, Fatimah Hannibal, Frances J. Key, Taurus Johnson, Angelia Stewart, Debbie Taylor, and Brian White.
Certified Nursing Assistant graduates are Carla Arnett, Denise Brown, Tressica Carter, Tierra Coley, Stephina Ford, Miranda Golden, Alexandra Irving, Shannon Miller, Cassandra Moody, Andrew Roberts, Ana Sandoval, Cristian Sandoval, Shamita Simpson, Emma Tyler, Gloria Wesley, Cynthia Williams and Katrina Williams.
The graduation is at 6 p.m.
Nonprofits partner to reduce Downtown homelessness
Downtown Vision Inc. last week announced results of several community partnerships designed to reduce chronic homeless in Downtown. The efforts have provided homes to more than 570 individuals. They are:
• The Jacksonville Daytime Resource Center, which serves more than 150 people a day, according to Dawn Gilman, executive director of the Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition.
• 100 Homes Jacksonville, part of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign, has housed more than 500 chronically homeless people in the region since its inception in 2012. Ability Housing of Northeast Florida administers the program, which is a partnership among the Veterans Administration, River Region, the Sulzbacher Center, Clara White Mission, Jacksonville Housing Authority, Mental Health Resource Center and the coalition. The program has an ongoing goal to house 30 people a month.
• Homeward Bound, a partnership between the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and Sulzbacher Center, has provided stable housing to 71 people in six months. The program started last year with $10,000 in seed money and another $50,000 is slated to extend the program.
• Chronic Homeless Offenders Program, another partnership between Sulzbacher and the sheriff's office. The pilot program identifies the top 20 repeat offenders arrested for nuisance crimes, costing the city $64 per day in jail time. Once arrested, the person is given a choice of jail or, as a condition of probation, entrance into Sulzbacher.
• The Solution That Saves, a grant awarded to develop 43 units of housing for those in need.
The average cost of a single chronically homeless person is $50,000 per year, which includes jail time, emergency room visits, social services and other costs, according to the Downtown Vision. It costs between $12,000-$24,000 to provide a permanent supportive housing solution.