The data shows that homelessness in the Sarasota city limits has

	A Homeless Outreach Team making contact with an individual - Summer 2018

dropped by a remarkable 52.1% over the past three years. This is a dramatic improvement attributable to the community's commitment to evoke change through a systematic approach with a coordinated entry system and connecting housing with essential mental health and substance abuse services.   

 

The City has had dedicated Homeless Outreach Teams since 2014, which include a social service case manager and SPD officer, who meet one-on-one with the chronic homeless on the street and work to develop a plan aimed toward housing.

 

In addition, Judge Erika Quartermaine's Comprehensive Treatment Court, a jail diversion program, helps place the chronic homeless with mental health issues into housing and also pairs them with social services.

 

While we're seeing progress, there's more work to be done. We need to share the data and proven success with policy makers who can help solve the problem further with stable and appropriate funding.  Funding the response on the front end to finish this work will save taxpayer dollars when considering the hidden costs of the revolving door of emergency medical care and the criminal justice system.   

 

We greatly appreciate all of our partners working together on this challenge, especially Jon Thaxton and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation for the exemplary effort responding to this crisis. And, thanks to Ed DeMarco and his leadership over the past two years with the Suncoast Partnership helping to combat homelessness.  Earlier this week, Ed announced his retirement, and we wish him all the best with his future plans.  

            

Permitting - System Upgrade   Next week, our busy Permitting Division will continue the process of digitizing to a new computer system enabling the Development Services Department to sunset the current system which has performed well past its expected lifespan.

 

The new system will improve staff response, enhance cyber security, reduce paper use and allows inspectors to file reports electronically in real-time from a job site.

Sarasota - Open for Small Businesses!    After being honored last month as the 18th best place to live in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, our special city has just been recognized as the #2 Best Small City to Start a Small Business! 

 

Verizon conducted the survey and based rankings on various factors including drive time to work, taxes, income and loans per capita and broadband access. The findings highlight why conditions are favorable for small business owners in Sarasota. What a feather in our cap!   

 

This significant recognition was possible thanks to those who have worked tirelessly to foster a vibrant environment for small businesses in Sarasota -- from the City Commission supporting dynamic improvement projects like the Lemon Avenue Streetscape to the downtown Business Improvement District to the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County -- and, the many small business owners themselves. Congratulations, everyone!     

Big Brothers Big Sisters - Mentor Program    A group of City
employees recently wrapped up their participation in a Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast mentoring program that paired them up with students from Booker High School. The "Bigs" met with their "Littles" throughout the school year to provide mentoring in a professional setting.

The "Beyond School Walls" program allowed the students to shadow our staff and learn about their work environments and different career paths. We hosted guest speakers on topics such as professionalism, higher education, soft skills, career planning and more. After those sessions, the employees and students met one-on-one to talk about their personal lives and future educational goals.

For their final session together earlier this week, the Bigs and Littles worked together to create "vision boards" that illustrated their personal and professional aspirations, then presented them to the group. It was a great exercise in helping these young people visualize their higher goals and aspirations.

Human Resources Director Stacie Mason and her "Little," Booker High sophomore Amaya Saunders, work together on creating their "vision board."

 

We're thankful to the City employees who were so generous in offering their time, wisdom and experience to this program, and we're proud to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast in advancing their mission of providing great opportunities for our youth. We wish the students future success and hope their time here will have a lasting impact.