Rachel Frazin  |  Tampa Bay Times

ZEPHYRHILLS — Glenda Denton’s aunt told her she would help her find an apartment when she moved from Panama City to Pasco County last year with her boyfriend. Instead, they were out on the street.

For six months, they lived in the woods in Crystal Springs sleeping in shifts for safety. The Samaritan Project, a Zephyrhills-based nonprofit that helps the homeless, brought them resources like food and body wash.

Denton then lived in a hotel, and in May, found an apartment. Being homeless was scary, she said.

“You don’t know where you’re going to eat tomorrow,” she said. “You don’t know where you’re going to sleep tonight.”

East Pasco had no homeless shelter for Denton or others in her situation and still doesn’t, aside from a domestic violence survivor shelter and one that will open this summer for homeless veterans with post-traumatic stress. And no plans are in place to build one, said Thomas O’Connor Bruno, chief operating officer of the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County.

About 30 to 40 percent of Pasco County’s homeless population lives on the east side, he said. They are moving northward from Pinellas County, he said, and eastward within the county, from Wesley Chapel to Crystal Springs.

The county has about 250 shelter beds in total, enough to serve less than 10 percent of the documented homeless population, O’Connor Bruno said, adding that most of the beds are for domestic violence victims.

Efforts to establish another west-side shelter — for homeless families — in New Port Richey met with community resistance at a public meeting last month.

Pasco County’s most recent homelessness count in February 2017, identified 2,593 homeless residents. That was the third highest number in the state, behind Miami-Dade and Pinellas, said O’Connor Bruno.

Florida’s overall homeless population count has decreased from 47,862 people in 2013 to 32,109 in 2017 according to a state report. The homeless count in Pasco has varied dramatically over the past few years, likely because of changes in counting techniques, said Susan Pourciau, the Florida Housing Coalition’s director of homeless training and technical assistance. The state coalition began working with the local coalition and Pasco County government officials in April to address the problem.

Creating a homeless shelter in east Pasco would require a group willing to run it and funding behind it, O’Connor Bruno said. Most homeless shelters are paid for by private organizations, he said, and sometimes receive additional funding from the county.

Of the approximately $1.4 million the Pasco coalition receives through federal and state grants, about $330,000 is used by the coalition for staffing, its Homeless Management Information System, planning and programming. About $820,000 is passed through the coalition to other organizations and the coalition uses about $250,000 for direct services.

While east Pasco doesn’t have a shelter building, it has a campground.

A Helping Rock is a homeless encampment with 10 cabins, as well as recreational vehicles and tents, on a 20-acre property outside Zephyrhills. The nonprofit is funded largely by its thrift store and rent payments required of residents who have income, albeit small.

A Helping Rock is run by volunteers, including director Eddy Reyes, and has oversight from a steering committee that includes Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina, Zephyrhills Police Chief Derek Brewer, First Church of the Nazarene pastor Nick Deford and two nonprofit organizations.

The campground provides meals for up to 50 homeless people and tries to help them find employment. Reyes would like to add more bathrooms so they can admit more people and a fence to keep the property secure.

John Glover, his wife, Candee, and their 17-year-old daughter came to A Helping Rock after moving out of his stepmother’s home during a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Irma. At first, it was difficult getting used to the required chores and early meetings, he said, especially because he is disabled.

“Gradually, I began to see that it was actually helping me. I felt better,” he said.

Glover and his family have since moved off of the grounds and into their own mobile home, and Candee holds a job at Walmart that A Helping Rock helped her secure. Glover volunteers at the campground as a driver.

A physical shelter in east Pasco would make a big difference, Reyes said. Part of eliminating homelessness is addressing self-esteem issues, he said, and the more someone takes pride in where they live, the closer they are to pursuing permanent housing.

Spina called A Helping Rock “a good first step,” but said east Pasco needs a shelter for those facing both short-term and chronic homelessness. Funding an east-side shelter is primarily a county responsibility, Spina said, and the county should collaborate with nonprofits and the religious community.

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, who represents most of the county’s east side, said he would like a shelter there, but budget constraints make it difficult.

“To have the funding to be able to have shelters on the east side — yes, we need that,” he said.

Past efforts in east Pasco were unsuccessful. Chancey Road Christian Church outside Zephyrhills tried to shelter local homeless people in 2010, said Pastor Tim Mitchell. About 30 people came each night for a meal, a shower and place to sleep, he said. Problems started when the church wanted to expand and sent a notice to its neighbors.

Citizens said at a planning commission meeting that the shelter made them feel unsafe, and county commissioners shut it down.

“The first step is changing … the way the community views the homeless in our area,” said Samaritan Project executive director Roxxy Geisenheimer. Most people her organization serves do not appear to have drug abuse issues, she said, but do have mental or physical disabilities.

Pasco County contributes to homeless shelters and programs by giving $250,000 each year to the local United Way, in grants that organizations can apply for, said Pasco Community Services Director Kimberly Price. The county also has earmarked $600,000 to renovate the proposed shelter in New Port Richey, O’Connor Bruno said.

If that shelter opens, Price hopes transportation will be set up to help east Pasco families reach it, but said she wants to keep children attending east Pasco schools on that side of the county.

Contact Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@tampabay.com. Follow @RachelFrazin.

Article last accessed on May 31, 2018 here. A print-ready PDF is available here.