Southwest Florida homeless coalition concerned about possible changes, cuts to federal funding

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

Aubrey Shirk went from sleeping on the beach – homeless – to now helping those who are.

“I've gone from, you know, feeling less than human, to feeling empowered,” Shirk said.

She now works for the Southwest Florida Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, serving those who are on the path she once walked.

"I get to help people navigate the resources that I didn't even know existed,” she said.

Part of the coalition’s work includes the annual "Point-in-Time" count, which is happening this week in Lee County. It tracks how many people are experiencing homelessness.

Years ago, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue was obvious. Dozens of tents lined the fence at Lions Park in Fort Myers.

While that kind of visibility may have gone away, the problem has not.

“There's a lot of people that, you know, are there that are in the shadows,” Shirk said. “Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean that they're not there.”

The data proves it. In 2022, Hurricane Ian and a rise in housing costs led to a sharp rise in homelessness – one that hasn’t recovered.

And this is only an estimate, about a third of the actual number of people living on the streets.

“The problem doesn't go away, you know. (That’s) what people need to understand,” Michael Overway, the executive director of the coalition, said.

How many people are homeless isn’t the only concern.

It’s also who is.

“We're seeing a lot more homeless seniors again, a lot more single parents that are either living in their cars or in the camps,” Overway said.

To add to the challenge, Overway said the government shutdown last year slowed their funding.

In Collier County, they’re still waiting on two grants.

And there are growing concerns over other possible changes – or even cuts – to federal funding.

In late November, 20 states sued the Trump administration after cuts to a homeless program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“If we don't stay in front of affordable housing and treatment services, because the two go hand-in-hand, the populations we're going to have on the street in two to three years from now will be unmanageable,” Overway said. “And then what do we do?"

There has been some progress in recent years, Overway said, specifically in housing homeless veterans, but more work is ahead.

This week, beyond just the homeless count, is a goal to connect people in need to resources, like the North Shore Alliance Church in North Fort Myers.

The church is among the places that offer free clothes, free food, and more.

For Aubrey Shirk, this is an opportunity to get people help.

It's also an opportunity to give them hope.

“There's so many people that go quietly that are underserved and that lose hope. And it's the worst place to be,” she said. “We all just need a little hope sometimes.”

The homeless count culminates with the annual Homeless Service Day and Veteran Stand Down Event, which is held Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Next Level Church off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Myers.

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