As part of the City of Largo’s Homeless Work Group’s effort to learn more about the homeless population in Largo, the Work Group asked Pinellas Homeless Leadership Board to visit two parks in Largo where there has been a perceived increase in homeless individuals. This initiative was asked as a one-time service since the City currently does not fund ongoing homeless street outreach.
The Pinellas Homeless Leadership Board organized a Homeless Outreach Team which visited Largo Central Park and Northeast Park on the morning of January 17th. The team of five staff members from the Homeless Leadership Board and three staff members from St. Vincent de Paul went to the parks at 6:00 am to make contact with homeless individuals and try to connect them with homeless and housing services. The team uses a survey, called the Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) to collect client information and determine their health risk level, which in turn is used to prioritize them for housing. At Largo Central Park, the Team conducted one VI-SPDAT on an individual and saw four other individuals – two of which are currently in the homeless system (already had VI-SPDAT completed), and the other two individuals did not want to engage with the Team. At Northeast Park, the Team encountered two individuals and both were given the VI-SPDAT. One Team member went back out to Northeast Park on January 18th and found two other individuals that were not willing to engage in the VI-SPDAT, but were given homeless resource guides
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- Carol Stricklin
Community Development Department Director I 586-7490 I cstrickl@largo.com
