Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
$8M homeless shelter planned
Palm Beach County will also build a Sheriff’s Office satellite building.
The homeless who have made a home of John Prince Park and other public places in central Palm Beach County likely will have a real roof over their heads in the coming years.
Palm Beach County is planning a new $8 million homeless shelter and Sheriff ’s Office satellite building near the Lake Worth park, although the location has not yet been set. A penny sales tax voters approved in 2016 will pay for construction, but officials expect additional annual costs of $5 million, mostly for staffing, including medical professionals, social workers and security.
Officials from the Village of Palm Springs, near one of the proposed sites, have already lodged concerns, and Palm Beach County officials say they are ready to reassure neighbors of wherever the shelter lands that they will not be facing a security threat.
“Homeless people are not frightening,” County Commissioner Hal Valeche said. “They’re families that lost a job. They’re kids. They’re not scary. The reaction to having them in your neighborhood is a little overstated.”
The shelter would be the county’s second. The Senator Philip D. Lewis Center opened in 2012 in West Palm Beach at a cost of $9.6 million and has 20 beds for women and 40 for men. Several agencies have offices at the center to help the residents find housing, medical care and jobs.
The county reported 618 people stayed at the Lewis Center last year for an average stay of 42 days. There’s a 100-person waiting list.
A survey earlier this year showed the county’s homeless rate has fallen 18 percent. There were 1,308 homeless during a January count last year, down from 1,607 the previous year.
County officials attributed the decline to better coordination of services and the shifting of money into short-term rental assistance.
While chronic and youth homelessness declined, the number of homeless veterans jumped by 73 percent. The number of homeless families increased by 5 percent.
The count included those living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and on the streets. Outreach teams scoured woods, parks, alleys and other places homeless people frequent.
The county chose the west Lake Worth area because of the 726-acre John Prince Park’s consistent homeless population. Some sleep there overnight after the park has closed. About 30 homeless were present during a recent count.
County Commissioner Dave Kerner has reported complaints about people at the park using the bathroom in public, hanging up laundry and leaving trash.
Palm Springs leaders say they are aware of the many nearby homeless but said a proposed site on six-lane Lake Worth Road is the location of many car accidents.
Village Manager Richard Reade told the County Commission residents fear they will have to bear some costs of the facility, such as attention from its police force.
“We are concerned that the costs may not be fully representative of our costs,” Reade said. “We are very concerned about the location on Lake Worth Road, and we ask for your help with that.”
The new shelter would have 40 beds for the homeless in its first phase and add 34 in the second. County commissioners authorized their staff to start researching the best sites.