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Hernando Today

Woman's Drive To Help Homeless Gets Boost

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By KYLE MARTIN Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 24, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The calls just keep coming.
Suzanne Evans has received a flood of donations and support since her campaign to help Hernando's homeless was publicized in Hernando Today.

Thanks to the community's outreach, Evans continues to feed up to 25 people a day and supply the homeless with blankets and other necessities. Just recently, she purchased 25 gift cards for a fast food chain so her friends can drop in for a hot meal.

"The response has been wonderful," Evans said Friday. "I've been getting just phone call after phone call."

But there's still work to be done.

State records show that the number of homeless in Hernando County stood at around 200 at the beginning of 2008. That's actually in line with a steady drop since 2005, when estimates placed the numbers at 409.

But based on the number of calls for assistance and anecdotal evidence it's clear the numbers will be up in 2009, said Barbara Wheeler, executive director of the Mid-Florida Homeless Coalition. Wheeler's forecast for the following year is bleak.

An uptick in unemployment - 9.7 percent in Hernando County as of Friday - translates to fewer donations. It also means the people who would normally lend assistance are out of work and asking for services. Other trends show families who are booted out of a home move in with a friend, only to lose that shelter, too.

"I don't know how big that snowball is going to get before it gets better," Wheeler said.

With talk of a special Legislative session on the horizon to cut more out of the budget, it doesn't look good, she said.

Amid the doom and gloom, Wheeler tries to find a bright spot. An estimated $4 million in federal funding could be coming down the pipeline for Hernando County to purchase foreclosed homes, Wheeler said.

And if nothing else, it's human nature to take pity on the less fortunate.

"If you put the plea out people will provide where they can," Wheeler said.

The demand is evident at the Love Your Neighbor program, which distributes hot meals once a week at the American Legion Post 99 in downtown Brooksville.

Founder John Callea said the organization is dishing out more than 300 meals at a sitting. This time last year, it was only 150.

Not all of the recipients are homeless, but Callea estimates there are quite a few people who are a "step away" from the streets.

Among them are the people sleeping on the floors of foreclosed homes with no electricity.

If there's any bright spot, it's that Love Your Neighbor's larder is crammed with donations.

"Thank God we are full," Callea said.

Evans is grateful for the community's generosity, but her only hope is that more people will respect the homeless. Their rough appearance immediately subjects them to judgment, but it's hard to clean up on the street, she said.

All they need is a friendly ear.

In her case, "they were so happy that someone took the time to listen to how it is on the road," she said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com

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