24 Nov 09 2009 Housing Inventory Chart

This is the 2009 Housing Inventory Chart, submitted with the 2009 CoC application for funding from HUD.

19 Nov 09 Homeless Memorial Services slated for December 15, 2009

Please help us honor those homeless men, women and children who died this year as a direct result of their homelessness at our annual Homeless Memorial Day. Each year the Homeless Services Network holds this service to commemorate their lives. In 2008 we honored the lives of 23 such persons, including two whose bodies were never identified. In many cases, this service is the only memorial marking the passing of their lives.

This year’s ecumenical service will be taking place at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, 106 E. Church Street, Orlando, FL 32801 on December 15, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. and will last approximately one hour, followed by a brief reception.   Senior Pastor David Swanson will lead the memorial service which will include the reading of the names of each decedent and lighting a candle to represent each life lost. City and County Commissioners have been invited to attend.

Your presence will serve as an inspiration to the family and friends of the homeless who died, the social services agencies that will be represented, and will encourage us all to remember the needs of the homeless during this holiday season.

Be sure to email us (memorial {at} hsncfl(.)org) with the name and brief biographies, if available, of the homeless persons you wish to recognize. We encourage you to invite the family and friends of those who have died as they may wish to participate in the memorial.

18 Nov 09 No November CoC Meeting

The November Continuum of Care which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, 11/24, has been canceled because of its proximity to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will have a December meeting, however, it will not be on the customary 4th Tuesday of the month. Stay tuned for details.

16 Nov 09 A Message from HSN’s Chairman of the Board

In October 2009, the Central Florida Commission to End Homelessness, which was established in May 2008, asked the Board of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida to consider a merger with the Commission. The Homeless Services Network Board of Directors responded by establishing a committee of the Board to engage in a thorough dialogue with the Commission. The dialogue will be informed by research into the potential impact of such a merger on the Continuum of Care for which HSN has been responsible since 2003 and feedback from the regional philanthropic community. The dialogue will also include the viewpoints of the more than 100 agencies of every type that provide the day-to-day services relied upon by the nearly 9,000 persons experiencing homeless in Central Florida. HSN’s ultimate responsibility is to ensure the implementation of exemplary programs that provide the broadest range of resources and housing to the homeless in our region and to support the expansion of an integrated Continuum of Care that will end homelessness. Current discussions between the two entities are focused on future process and procedure; no timeline for decision-making has been established.

I invite each of you to the January 2009 HSN Continuum of Care meeting on January 26, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at HFUW, 1940 Traylor Boulevard (coffee and bagels at 8:30 a.m.), where a portion of the program will include an opportunity for attendees to gain further understanding of this potential partnership and share your viewpoint.

If you have questions about this topic, please feel free to contact me at (407) 428-5751 x 332, bburns {at} hcch(.)org, or Cathy Jackson, HSN Executive Director at (407) 893-0133, x101, cathy {at} hsncfl(.)org.

Bakari Burns, Chairman of the Board

10 Nov 09 2009 Homeless Memorial

A memorial to honor homeless persons who died during 2009 will be held at 9 a.m. on December 15 at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Orlando. This memorial is part of a national effort to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness.

Attendees will take turns reading the names of and lighting candles for the homeless people who passed away this year in Central Florida. The names will include people who died on the street, as well as those who were participants in housing and other programs for the formerly homeless.

Because there is no official tracking of homeless deaths in most communities, we need your help to collect the names of those who have died. Please submit the name of anyone you know who died in 2009 who should be included in this memorial. To submit a name, please e-mail: memorial {at} hsncfl(.)org

This is the eighth year that the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida has sponsored this event.