About The Coalition

Who We Are:

A Unified Strategic Alliance

The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is not a separate entity, but a collective strategic alliance of independent nonprofit organizations, local government agencies, and dedicated allies.

As our alliance grows, the key partners and service leads driving this mission forward will be formally recognized here.

The Alliance Framework:

The Coalition is a voluntary, strategic alliance of independent partners. Each organization maintains its own governance and funding, while the Strategic Alliance Lead ensures data integrity and legislative coordination across the network. This framework allows us to speak with one voice in Tallahassee while respecting the unique mission and autonomy of every local partner.

Our Goals:

Our goals are to:

Standardize Inter-Organization Cooperation: Building a unified “information bridge” between all Putnam County nonprofits to eliminate service silos and ensure no individual falls through the structural cracks.
Establish a Permanent Sustainable Shelter: Securing a physical, compliant, and well-resourced shelter that serves as the foundation for all other county-wide homelessness initiatives.
Identify and Bridge Service Gaps: Implementing evidence-based programs—currently missing from our local landscape—to provide a full continuum of care from the street to self-sufficiency.
Universal Stability: Our ultimate goal is the transition of every person experiencing homelessness into stable housing and productive independence.

The Putnam Template (Our Vision for Scalability):

We are documenting every milestone, policy hurdle, and data breakthrough of this movement. Our intent is to create a proven strategic template that can be distributed to nonprofits and coalitions across Florida and the United States, providing a roadmap for localized solutions to the national homelessness crisis.

Join us on Facebook in the Putnam County FL Homeless Support group.

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Current Coalition Partners & Direct Service Leads

(Participating Agencies And Partners)

Notice: We are currently verifying the 2026 participation of our local nonprofit, faith-based, and governmental partners to ensure unified coordination. A full directory of our verified Strategic Partners will be live shortly.

Some listed will have brief overview of their work with the coalition.

[This section will be updated over time to add more of who is an active member partner of this coalition]

• Nonprofits and Partners: To update your impact data or be included in this list if you’re not already listed, contact the Strategic Alliance Lead here.

• Red Conrad is a Strategic Alliance Lead and Community Solutions Catalyst focused on strengthening cross-sector collaboration to address homelessness. Their work centers on aligning nonprofits, independent advocates, and public partners around shared data, clear communication, and practical policy pathways.

Actively involved in legislative discussions and community data efforts such as the Point-in-Time (PIT) count, Red emphasizes solutions that balance immediate needs — such as a shelter — with long-term stability. Known for convening diverse stakeholders and sustaining engagement, they play a key role in keeping coalition efforts focused, coordinated, and grounded in real-world conditions.

Their approach prioritizes transparency, shared ownership, and respect for both lived experience and institutional constraints, helping ensure homelessness responses remain effective, humane, and durable.

His passion stems from his own experience being homeless and seeing firsthand how lacking the county is in resources and the ease to locate those resources that do exist. He aims to end the stereotypes, show the data-driven truth of homelessness, and help those experiencing homelessness get back on their feet.

Contact Red via email at RedConrad84@gmail.com

• Palatka Christian Service Center / Heart of Putnam is a co-founding partner organization and dedicated partner of this alliance to ensure all residents get the services and programs needed. They are leading the R.I.S.E. Program initiative.

To learn more about, and contact, Palatka Christian Service Center visit HeartOfPutnam.com

• Operation Lifeline / Lifeline Construction is a co-founding partner organization that helps veterans with employment and housing. Learn more at OpLifeline.org

• Veteran Building Solutions Inc is a co-founding partner organization that is helping homeless and disabled veterans get into housing. May be contacted via VeteranBuildingSolutionsinc@gmail.com and website VeteranBuildingSolutionsinc.org

• Meridian Healthcare: Helping those who face mental health and substance use challenges. And are also assisting those experiencing homelessness. Info at their website: https://mbhci.org/

• Putnam County Caring Coalition is a co-founding partner organization actively providing the homeless with day services in Palatka.

• Spiritual Messiah Ministries: A co-founding partner providing direct emergency assistance through the Emergency Assistance Fund—offering immediate support for food, and essential supplies. As a grassroots faith-based organization rooted in Matthew 25 principles, SMM connects individuals to longer-term resources, helps administer the coalition’s Putnam County FL Homeless Support Facebook group, and supports coalition advocacy for the Gloria Johnson Act and R.I.S.E. program. Visit the Spiritual Messiah Ministries website for more details.

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How it started:

The coalition consists of the nonprofits throughout Putnam County, FL that are actively seeking to help the homeless population and end homelessness in our county. It started from Reds concern about the closure of the only shelter in the county.

An independent data-finding initiative was launched. He began:

showing up to council meetings,
meeting with all the nonprofits,
going to the Round Table Alliance meetings (the RTA is the collective nonprofits of the county),
reaching out to decision-makers and potential partners,
engaging media outlets
researching laws, statutes, etc,
created a Facebook group dedicated to the homeless

The investigation revealed critical gaps between local shelter funding and the actual data of our unhoused population. By bridging these findings with the proposed Gloria Johnson Act, we have moved beyond traditional advocacy to create a data-driven alliance that protects our county from liability while securing the resources needed for a permanent, sustainable shelter and programs to help the homeless get off the streets and back on their feet.

This sparked massive interest and ended up with the January 2026 Round Table Alliance meeting having the largest turnout.

The data-finding initiative provided the evidence necessary to form a unified strategic alliance that has been dubbed the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition. The alliance is compromised of the nonprofits throughout the county and homeless advocates.

Red serves as the Strategic Alliance Lead & Community Solutions Catalyst of this coalition. Alliance Partners are being encouraged to adopt titles such as Community Data Partners or other similar titles; as these titles make us look more solidified and organized while also looking less aggressive to the politicians and organizations we need to work with as opposed to using the term advocate.