Local organizations call for focus on homeless issues

As homelessness issues continue to persist in Sarasota, a group of local organizations is teaming up in an attempt to finally substantively address the problem.

Those groups have laid the groundwork for an initiative they’ve named Q Life. The name underscores the heart of the program, focused on improving the overall quality of life in Sarasota — for residents, businesses and homeless individuals. At an event today, the group outlined its mission, which includes changing the conversation the community has been having regarding homelessness.

“We're moving in a positive direction,” said Kevin Cooper, vice president for public policy with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. “We need to start diffusing that culture and making that our story.”

Cooper and Ethan Frizzell, area commander of the Salvation Army, explained the origins of the initiative during a breakfast at Louies Modern. The idea was borne out of a series of community conversations surrounding homelessness held over the past six months.

Cooper explained that the prevailing thoughts that came from those conversations were that Sarasota could be doing better when it comes to addressing homelessness, and that doing better would improve the quality of life for everyone in the area. Cooper and Frizzell agreed that emphasizing quality of life was a crucial to engaging a broader swath of the community.

"This model is something we know well and everyone can get behind."

At today’s event, early members of the Q Life team introduced themselves to the crowd of about 50. Representatives from Sarasota’s business, real estate, merchant and service communities explained why they were motivated to get involved and why they believe the time is right for meaningful progress to be made on this front.

The group also invited Greg Shinn, associate director of the Tulsa, Okla. Mental Health Association, to speak at the breakfast. Shinn, who was recently hired to address homelessness issues in central Florida, has worked to reduce chronic homelessness in Tulsa by pushing a model that works to house as many individuals as possible — and that highlights the economic benefits of addressing the issue, rather than letting it linger.

“Allowing homelessness to exist in your community is far more expensive than providing solutions,” Shinn said. “Implementing those solutions is its own economic driver.”

In Tulsa, that’s meant building or refurbishing affordable housing throughout the city, a percentage of which is reserved for chronically homeless individuals, including those with substance abuse issues or mental disabilities. Shinn said the effort has been successful — the city’s chronic homeless population is down 65% since 2001, and the housing units had an 88% one-year retention rate last year.

“Allowing homelessness to exist in your community is far more expensive than providing solutions."

Frizzell said that the Q Life team will meet twice a month to focus on how to create more opportunities to improve the quality of life in the area, and how to eliminate issues that deter from the quality of life. Although it’s still early, those involved with the Q Life initiative are hopeful it will effectively draw in a larger segment of the community — which will then lead to significant progress on this issue.

“As a businessperson, you need to find out what you do well that's unique, and focus on it and work on it,” Cooper said. “Quality of life is that thing in Sarasota County. This model is something we know well and everyone can get behind.”