Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition

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Author: Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition

  • The Gap Between Compassion and Capacity

    In our last post, we discussed the Gloria Johnson Act and why punishing our neighbors for surviving in public spaces is a failing strategy. So where does that leave us? If the street isn’t the answer, where is the solution?

    We often hear that “we have plenty of churches and charities helping.” This is true. Putnam County is home to incredibly dedicated organizations. Every day, groups like Bread of Life in Palatka and Interlachen Soup Kitchen Ministries provide hot meals. Organizations like Epic-Cure, St. Monica’s, and St. Vincent DePaul work tirelessly to distribute groceries across the county. We even have specialized recovery support through SMA Healthcare and The Nehemiah Project.

    But there’s a crucial difference between a safety net and a path home.

    The Current Reality: The Missing Pieces

    While our community excels at providing a meal or a grocery bag, our own resource guide shows where the system stops. When we look at what our most vulnerable neighbors actually need, we find too many blank spaces:

    • Chronic Homeless Housing: There is no designated facility in Putnam County for those facing long-term homelessness.
    • Veterans Housing: Despite their service, we lack local, specialized housing for veterans in crisis.
    • When Geography Becomes Destiny: Our data shows that while Palatka and Interlachen have some resources, residents in Florahome, Satsuma, Crescent City, Georgetown, or Lake Como have almost no access to local emergency services. No car or bus pass? You’re left stranded.
    • The Shelter Gap: We have fantastic specialized shelters like the Lee Conlee House for domestic violence survivors and CDS for at-risk youth. But a single adult or a couple with no children who simply has nowhere to go tonight? The list is empty.

    Moving From “Survival” to “Stability”

    While vital programs provide the daily support that keeps our neighbors alive, the Coalition is focused on the next step: moving from survival to stability.

    Charity alone is a band-aid. To make real progress, we need better coordination between these organizations and the people who need them. We need something beyond a hurricane shelter or a temporary mat—we need a “Welcome Home” that provides the stability someone needs to finally look toward the future.

    We have added a Resource Gap Analysis to our Partner Portal, where our partner organizations are currently working together to identify every missing service and coordinate a fix. We aren’t just guessing; we are using real-time data to build a better system.

    What’s Next?

    On February 20th, our Coalition will meet at the First Baptist Church of Palatka (12:00 PM)

    We’re identifying exactly where the holes are—specifically those missing pieces for our veterans and chronically homeless neighbors—and how we, as a community, are going to fill them.

     

     

    While we’re working towards these solutions, you can help by donating blessing bags (visit the Blessing Bag Resource Page for information) and check out our Volunteer page to join the Rapid Response Team or the Join The Coalition page to join us. 

    Join our Facebook Group and Like/Follow our Facebook Page

  • After Grants Pass: Why Putnam County Needs the Gloria Johnson Act

    The landscape of homelessness advocacy changed on June 28, 2024, when the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision allowed for the punishing of homeless individuals even when no alternative shelter is available. In response, the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is working to introduce a new path forward: The Gloria Johnson Act—a model policy named after Gloria Johnson of Grants Pass, Oregon, and now being adopted by communities nationwide—offers a blueprint for protecting human dignity while creating smarter solutions.

    What is the Gloria Johnson Act?

    Our draft of the “Gloria Johnson Anti-Cruelty to Floridians Experiencing Homelessness Act” is designed to protect the basic human rights of our neighbors while creating a smarter, more cost-effective system for our county.

    Key Pillars of Our Proposed Act:

    • Decriminalizing Survival: The Act would eliminate counter-productive criminal penalties for “life-sustaining activities”—like sleeping or resting—when adequate alternative indoor space is not available.
    • Defining “Adequate” Shelter: We aren’t just talking about a mat on a floor. Our Act defines adequate space as accessible, at no charge, and able to accommodate disabilities, possessions, and even pets or partners.
    • Shifting Resources to Solutions: By decriminalizing rest, our local government can redirect resources from law enforcement and jailing toward addressing the root causes of poverty.
    • Legal Protection: Under the Act, someone cannot be punished for sleeping outside if the government cannot prove that safe, accessible shelter was actually available to them.

    A Proven Approach

    The Gloria Johnson Act isn’t just a good idea—it’s a proven model. Since early 2025, versions of the Gloria Johnson Act have been introduced in 11 different state legislatures (including California and Maryland). A federal version—the Housing Not Handcuffs Act—was reintroduced in Congress by Rep. Pramila Jayapal in 2025, using very similar language.

    The core principle of the “Right to Rest” has already been signed into law in Rhode Island (2012), Connecticut (2013), and Illinois (2013), where Homeless Bill of Rights protections have reduced criminalization while protecting constitutional rights. Putnam County has the opportunity to join this growing movement and be a leader in Florida.

    Why This Matters for Putnam County

    Fining and jailing people who have nowhere to go doesn’t stop homelessness; it only creates a vicious cycle of debt and criminal records that makes finding a home even harder. We believe in Housing, not Handcuffs.

    Be a Part of the Solution

    We are currently working to bring this draft to the attention of our legislators. Your support and your voice are what will turn this draft into a reality for Putnam County.

    Join us at our next meeting:

    Date: February 20th, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

    Location: First Baptist Church of Palatka

    Can’t attend? Here’s how you can help:

    • Contact your Putnam County Commissioner and urge them to support the Gloria Johnson Act (template drafts available to download on the Gloria Johnson Act page )
    • Share this message with your neighbors, faith community, and on social media

  • Strategy and Sustainability: Building a Permanent Foundation

    In recent weeks, the conversation surrounding the challenges facing our homeless neighbors in Putnam County has grown louder. We see the posts, we hear the frustrations, and we acknowledge the outcry. It is no secret that the current system is fragmented and, in many ways, broken.

    However, at the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, we believe that identifying a problem is only the first step. The second—and most vital—step is building a permanent foundation to fix it.

    1. From Awareness to Action

    Awareness is important, but awareness alone doesn’t build state-compliant shelters or secure legislative protections like the Gloria Johnson Act. Our mission is to move past the “venting” phase and into the “infrastructure” phase. We’re not here to simply talk about how bad things are; we’re here to coordinate the data, the resources, and the people required to make homelessness in Putnam County rare, brief, and non-recurring.

    2. The Power of Many vs. The Burden of One

    True advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint. We recognize that everyone has different capacities to give. Whether you can give forty hours a week or forty minutes a month, your contribution to this Coalition is valued.

    We are intentionally building a system that does not depend on any one person being available 24/7. Effective advocacy isn’t about who shouts the loudest or who works the longest hours—it’s about how well we work together. By organizing into a Coalition, we ensure that the mission continues even when individuals need to step back to focus on their own lives and families. We’d rather work smart together than burn out alone.

    3. Professionalism is our Foundation

    To win the support of local officials, business leaders, and state partners, we must operate with a level of professionalism that reflects the seriousness of our mission. This means:

    • Focusing on Solutions: We focus on solutions, using our platforms to build up rather than simply tear down.
    • Respecting Capacity: We welcome partners with busy schedules, knowing that a single hour of expert coordination can be more impactful than a week of uncoordinated effort.
    • Unified Voice: We’re a Coalition because twenty voices pulling in different directions don’t build bridges—they build chaos.

    Join Us in Building Solutions

    If this approach resonates with you and you’re ready to contribute to sustainable change in Putnam County, we invite you to join the Coalition. We are currently welcoming new Partners who share our commitment to strategic, data-driven solutions. Joining the Coalition means gaining access to our Partner Portal, receiving real-time updates on local policy, and having a seat at the table as we coordinate resources for Putnam County. Whether you represent an organization serving the homeless, a faith-based group, a business, or are an individual advocate, your unique expertise is needed. To get started, visit our Join the Coalition page to submit your information or email us at PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com with questions.

    Not ready to become a Partner? You can still make a difference. Visit our Volunteer page to join our Rapid Response team to contribute your time and skills to support our mission.

    Looking Ahead to February 20th

    Our upcoming second monthly Coalition meeting on the 20th is where these principles become practice. We invite those who are ready to move beyond the frustration and into the work of building a real, sustainable solution for Putnam County. The meeting will be at First Baptist Church of Palatka from 12 pm to 1:30 pm. 

    Join The Coalition
    Volunteer
    Join our Facebook Group and Like/Follow our Facebook Page 

  • The Portal is LIVE: Moving Beyond Snapshots to Real-Time Solutions

    We are excited to announce that the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition Partner Portal is officially live and ready for community use. This collaborative tool represents months of planning with local partners to address a critical gap in how we understand and respond to homelessness in our community.

    For too long, our community has relied on the annual Point-In-Time (PIT) count to understand the scope of homelessness in our area. While the PIT count is a necessary tool, we know it only provides a single snapshot in time, and often undercounts those in need. It doesn’t capture the daily shifts, the families in transition, the individuals who avoid the count due to safety concerns, or the hidden gaps in our local resources.

    Why This Portal Changes the Game

    This portal was built to be a living, breathing map of need in Putnam County. By centralizing our data and communication, we can:

     

    • Improve Accuracy & Completeness: Provide a more comprehensive, ongoing picture of those seeking assistance—capturing trends across weeks and months, not just a single January night.
    • Find the Gaps in Real-Time: Identify exactly where resources are missing as needs emerge, enabling faster response and strategic planning.
    • Coordinate Care & Reduce Duplication: Create a shared view across organizations so we can ensure seamless referrals and that no neighbor falls through the cracks.
    • Strengthen Advocacy: Build the data foundation needed to pursue state and federal funding, demonstrating actual need with evidence that goes beyond the annual snapshot.

     

    A Call to Action for Our Partners

    The infrastructure is built. The portal is ready. Now we need YOU to bring it to life.

    We’re calling on all local nonprofits, faith-based organizations, case managers, and community organizers with “boots on the ground” to:

    • Start logging contacts when someone seeks assistance related to housing instability
    • Update resource availability so referrals reflect what’s actually accessible
    • Share this tool with your networks and coalition partners

    Why Your Participation Matters:

    The data is only as good as the information we put into it. Every entry you make helps us build a more complete and honest picture of homelessness in Putnam County. This isn’t just data entry—it’s documentation that can help us secure the funding and resources our community desperately needs and deserves. The more consistently we use this portal, the stronger our case becomes when advocating for state and federal support.

    Get Started:

    Together, we can move from guessing to knowing—and from knowing to solving.

  • Putnam’s Path Forward – Formalizing the R.I.S.E. Program

    Today marked a major milestone for our community. Members of the Putnam County homelessness advocacy community met this morning to formalize the R.I.S.E. (Residential Initiative for Stability and Employment) program.

    While you may have seen the recent coverage on Action News Jax highlighting the urgent need for shelter in Palatka, there is much more happening behind the scenes to ensure this isn’t just a temporary fix, but a permanent solution.

    What Happened Today?

    The R.I.S.E. program was officially formalized as a collaborative initiative. This program is designed to be the “front door” for those seeking stability, but it is currently awaiting the next crucial step: City and County approval.

    The “Brain” Behind the Mission

    While a shelter provides the beds, our new Resource Hub provides the data. To make R.I.S.E. successful and state-compliant, we are implementing:

    • The Local PIT (Point-in-Time) Count: Moving beyond national estimates to get real, local numbers of our neighbors in need.
    • Gloria Johnson Act Alignment: Ensuring every step we take meets the new 2026 legislative standards for safety and accountability.
    • The Partner Portal: A centralized “command center” where local churches and agencies can coordinate resources in real-time.

    What’s Next?

    The R.I.S.E. program must now go before city and county officials for final approval. We aren’t just asking for a building; we are presenting a fully integrated, data-backed system to end the cycle of homelessness in Putnam County.

    Want to help? Check out our Volunteer Page and Join The Coalition page to see how you or your church can get involved in the upcoming shelter support teams.

    Join our Facebook Group and Like/Follow our Facebook Page