At a workshop session on Tuesday, June 16, officials from Palm Beach County’s homeless response system and major homeless service providers gave the Palm Beach County Commission a detailed look into how their organizations are critical to addressing homelessness in the area.
Representatives from the organizations presented the commissioners with an overview of how their collaborative efforts work to prevent and reduce homelessness. County staff brought forward the workshop item after the board requested to hear directly from major homeless service providers to learn more about their impact.
Palm Beach County’s Homeless and Housing Alliance System of Care partners with 60 nonprofit organizations that are working to end homelessness locally. According to the presentation, Palm Beach County has the lowest homeless population compared to the other large counties in the state. District 6, which includes the western communities, has the third-highest distribution of homelessness in the county.
The county last year invested nearly $21 million into its Homeless and Housing Alliance, which undertakes many regional homeless response efforts. On any given day, more than 700 individuals are served through the county’s transitional and permanent supportive housing program. While being housed, residents can receive healthcare, employment assistance and case management to help them achieve stability and self-sufficiency.
“[These investments] help prevent evictions, move people from the streets into shelters, transition individuals into permanent housing and provide ongoing support for those living in permanent supportive housing,” explained Dr. James Green, director of the Palm Beach County Community Services Department.
During the meeting, the board heard from other homeless support organizations who are a part of the county’s Homeless and Housing Alliance and receive tax revenue. The Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, the Lord’s Place and Vita Nova individually detailed what they specifically do for the community.
The Homeless Coalition specifically raises money to support organizations that address homelessness. The coalition is not a shelter or a direct service provider. Instead, it provides other organizations with resources, partnerships and coordination to help them succeed. Each year, the county invests $150,000 into the organization, with its other revenue coming from grants, fundraisers and donations.
Over the last 10 years, the coalition has raised $18 million for dedicated homelessness solutions. CEO Alexandria Ayala-Long said their work has resulted in millions of dollars being redirected back into the community and reduced public costs.
“We’re proud to be a collaborative part of the system — making a system stronger and working in a way that puts Palm Beach County ahead of the homeless crisis that we face in this county and in this state,” she explained.
Gulfstream Goodwill Industries provides programs focused on employment training and housing. From 2021 to 2025, the organization produced $72.7 million in revenue that is used to fund its housing resource centers, affordable housing units, prevention services, the Career Academy of the Palm Beaches, the Capabilities of the Palm Beaches program and its justice services. These programs have assisted thousands of people, and the organization is looking to expand its affordable housing options.
Adopt-A-Family owns and operates 112 housing units in the Lake Worth area that serve families with children who are at risk of or are homeless. The organization serves 200 families each year and provides a variety of services, with a heavy emphasis on children’s education.
Adopt-A-Family receives funds from the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County through its partnership, which it uses for rehousing efforts.
“Since 2014, we’ve received funds that we have deployed through the Homeless Resource Center, and they are 100 percent direct, specific assistance funds,” CEO Matthew Constantine said. “In other words… every dime we [got throughout] these years, what we’ve done is we put it right back out to house a family.”
The Lord’s Place houses 300 people experiencing homelessness every day throughout the county. It is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness by providing comprehensive services to anyone in the community.
Once someone is housed at the Lord’s Place, county partnerships help those individuals receive the services they need. The Lord’s Place Vice President of Strategic Impact Raymond Morse said that the county’s investment helps support its many efforts to get people off the street and back on their feet.
“We support individuals exiting incarceration, people living with serious mental illness, families with children, couples and single adults,” Morse said. “Across every program, our mission is to instill hope and to transform lives.”
Vita Nova mainly focuses on young adults who are experiencing homelessness.
“Our mission is pretty simple,” CEO Jeff DeMario said. “It’s really to help young people who are experiencing homelessness reclaim their futures.”
Through safe housing, transformative education and career readiness, the organization helps lead people to self-sufficiency. Vita Nova’s staff takes a comprehensive approach to addressing what young adults need to succeed by partnering with other organizations to provide those services.
Several commissioners praised the work that the organizations do and thanked them for informing the board about how the county assists in their efforts. They pointed out how partnerships are important to all their efforts because they are doing the work and collaborating with each other to address these problems.
“Today’s presentation really makes it clear the interaction that you all have together,” Commissioner Gregg Weiss said. “You’ve helped really define how you all work together, and that is an amazing thing to see all these agencies… collaborate and work together to ensure the success of the people.”
Others said they see the county’s tax revenue contribution to them as an investment in the community.
“This is a $50 million impact here sitting in front of us today,” Commissioner Maria Marino said. “There are plenty more of these organizations that are smaller that are helping in smaller communities… It’s important to know that there are partnerships. That’s why we brought you here today.”
However, Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter, who recently decided not to attend the Homeless Coalition’s annual Mayor’s Ball, questioned Ayala-Long on the organization’s financials, and if the coalition is really necessary, since they do not directly provide homelessness-related services. Baxter expressed her opinion that the money distribution system that the organization operates is wasteful because other organizations have not received any funding from the coalition this year.
Ayala-Long countered with examples that the organization continues to hold workshops, forums and helps run other programs. She also explained that the recent Mayor’s Ball shakeup has impacted their ability to raise money and disburse it to other organizations in the county.
“Just because our partners haven’t been funded, it doesn’t mean we haven’t been doing work in the community,” she said.
County staff noted that residents can report homelessness through the Connect PBC app, over the phone at (833) 273-9455 or at www.thehomelessplan.org, with reports going to the county’s homeless outreach team.
