Best Buy Lends a Helping Hand

Charlotte County Homeless Coalition

On June 14th, the hallways of

the Homeless Coalition were

lucky enough to get a much

needed touch up.

Six Best Buy employees gra-

ciously donated their time to

prime and paint our walls.

The walls look great, and we

are incredibly appreciative of

Best Buy for donating their

time and skills to CCHC!

Best Buy emphasizes the im-

portance of community to their

employees.

When they were finished paint-

ing our hallways, they eagerly

waited for their next assign-

ment.

They provided a huge help to

the Coalition by organizing our

pantry before our busy food

pantry day opens to the com-

munity each week. By organiz-

ing all of the donated goods, we

are better able to serve commu-

nity members that are in need

of our resources!

Thanks again to Best Buy for

helping the community!

Inside this issue:

Faces of Homelessness

Speakers‟ Bureau

2

Floor Trader Hosts Food/

Toiletry

2

2nd Annual Golf Tourna-

ment

3

Volunteer Spotlight 3

Announcements 3

10 Year Plan to End

Homelessness

4

Shelter and Pantry Needs 4

Special points of interest:

Volunteer Group

Homeless Prevention

New Program at CCHC

Local Food and Toiletry

Drive

Golf Tournament

10 Year Plan

Announcements

“It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” -Tom Brokaw

July 1, 2011

Issue 2, Volume 1

Homeless Prevention Program Stays Busy Year Round

Our Homeless Prevention program works diligently to keep

residents of Charlotte County in adequate and affordable hous-

ing. Each month we receive grant money to assist members of

the community with past due rent, move-in deposits, utility

deposits, and /or utility shut off notices. To be eligible for as-

sistance, households must have verifiable income to sustain

monthly expenses (earned income, unemployment, child sup-

port, food stamps, etc.).

The main objective of this program is to serve individuals and

families that would otherwise become homeless without this

assistance. Our case manager assesses whether clients can re-

main stably housed after this assistance is given. This is deter-

mined by meeting with the client and reviewing a monthly

budget and referring to local resources and agencies for addi-

tional assistance. For more information contact Tina Figliuolo

at 941-627-4313x118. Homeless Prevention Director,

Tina Figliuolo, works to ensure

clients stay housed this summer.

the store to donate items such as peanut butter, jelly,

pasta, canned tuna, sun block, toothpaste, bug spray,

cereal and shampoo, among other goods.

Brian and the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition

would like to thank Don and The Floor Trader for

organizing this collection in order to help the com-

munity. We are pleased to see local businesses reach

out to the Homeless Coalition to find a way to help!

For more information on how you can help call

Brian at the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition at

941-627-4313x125.

Thanks to the Floor Trader for hosting an ongo-

ing food and toiletry drive this summer at their

store. They are located at

12984 S Tamiami Trail, North Port, FL 34287.

The store hours are 8am-6pm Monday through

Friday, 9am-5pm Saturday, and closed on Sun-

day.

The owner and store manager, Don Bates, was

kind enough to contact our office to see how he

and his business can help the less fortunate this

summer. He worked with our Facilities Assis-

tant, Brian, to organize this drive of non-

perishables and much needed toiletries. Mem-

bers of the community are encouraged to go to

Speakers‟ Bureau Gives Homeless a Voice

Local Business Reaches Out to Help Less Fortunate

The Charlotte County Homeless Coalition welcomed a new program this year called the Faces of Homelessness Speakers‟ Bureau.

The program is sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and AmeriCorps*VISTA. The Speakers‟ Bureau is a national

initiative to educate communities about homelessness. Speakers are homeless and formerly homeless individuals who are able to

speak directly about their experiences to audiences county-wide. This year the Speakers‟ Bureau educated hundreds of students and

adults about the stereotypes associated with the homeless.

Chris, who is currently homeless, speaks on behalf of himself, the Coalition, and his friends to audiences

regularly. He says he likes being able to talk to audiences because many people have never talked to a

homeless person before. Chris adds, “Audiences ask a lot of questions. It‟s great, because this is how we

reverse stereotypes. I don‟t drink or do drugs. Sometimes people just go through hard times. This is my

chance to tell my story.”

Another speaker, Wendy, is a single mother who is currently battling cancer. She became homeless last

fall after taking a vacation up north and coming back to a flooded home. She had no where to turn while

her house got cleaned out, so she moved into our Safe House Shelter. She enjoyed speaking to different

groups about her experiences because she felt she was truly making a difference. Wendy was proud of

her work with the Speakers‟ Bureau, “I loved being able to put a face to homelessness that was different

from the stereotypes, taking them away from the stigma.”

Chris speaking at a

community event at

Gilchrist Park

One of our youngest volunteers, Caitlin,

will be organizing a carwash that will

benefit CCHC this summer while she is

on break from school.

Where? Quality Self Storage located at

3041 South McCall Road, Englewood,

Florida 34224.

When? Saturday July 16 from 10am-

noon

Why? To help the CCHC!

The 2nd Annual Driving Out Hunger Golf Scramble at Kings Way Country Club was held on Saturday

May 21st. Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers and participants for making this year‟s golf

scramble a success! We had a great turn out with almost 20 teams.

The weather was perfect! The putting contest was in full swing. The winner of the putting contest was

Chris Hencher just 6 inches away from the pin. The next best was Jason Combes at 11inches away.

Congratulations Chris and Jason!

Charlotte Honda and Volkswagen offered a Honda CR-Z at the 13th hole for the first hole-in-one of

the day. The closest shot was by a young man not even old enough to drive!

We could not be successful without our sponsors! Your support really means a lot!

Team Sponsor:

Martella Law Firm, P.L.

Sign Sponsors:

Dolphin Cleaners Waste Management

Thrift Depot Punta Gorda Chamber

Carol Stevens DDS Gulfcoast Engraving

Fawcett Memorial Dee‟s & Dee‟s CPA‟s PA

Harbor Press W. Kevin Russell, PA

Edison State College

Integrity Employee Leasing

Florida Central Credit Union

Tournament Sponsors:

Charlotte Sun

Charlotte Honda and Volkswagen

Kingsway Country Club

Congratulations to our winning team with a

score of 58!

Mark Katz Jason Combs

Jack Farrell Jim Vetrone

Calling All Crafters!

Nan Attaway, a CCHC volunteer, is

looking to form a group to create

crafts that will be sold at craft fairs in

order to raise funds for the Charlotte

County Homeless Coalition! If you are

interested please call Nan at 941-423-

1706

Upcoming Carwash! Are you on Facebook?

Be sure to find the Charlotte County

Homeless Coalition on facebook to keep

up with news and events!

Friend us at:

www.facebook.com/cchcspeakers

or „Like Us‟ at

www.facebook.com/cchomelesscoalition

Thanks to Don Perry for his continued work in the food pantry. Every Thursday we can count on Don to

prepare 50-60 boxes of food that are provided to community members each week. Every Friday afternoon

Don is hard at work loading boxes into patron‟s cars and making sure everything is running smoothly.

Thanks for all of your hard work, Don!

Volunteer Spotlight: Don Perry

Shelter and Pantry

In the summer months, CCHC sees a significant

decrease in donations. To help us continue our ser-

vices to the community we need your help to make

sure our Safe House Shelter is properly stocked and

our pantry shelves stay full.

Shampoo

Conditioner

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Body wash

Diapers

Disposable Razors

Shaving Cream

Deodorant

Sun Block/Bug Spray

Hair Brushes/Combs

Nail Clippers

Tweezers

Laundry Detergent

Toilet Paper

Plastic Pillow Covers

Towels/ Washcloths

Socks

Denture Cleaner/ Grip

Batteries (AA, AAA, D)

Milk/Coffee/Creamer

Shelter Needs

Macaroni and Cheese

Peanut butter and Jelly

Tuna

Canned Chicken

Sardines

Potatoes (box or can)

Rice

Pasta

Spaghetti/ Pasta Sauce

Beans

Canned Fruit

Canned Meals

Canned Vegetables

Soup

Crackers

Cereal/ Oatmeal

Single Serving Snacks

Juice boxes/Milk Boxes

Coffee/ Creamer

Pantry Needs

Charlotte County Works to End Homelessness in 10 Years

In November 2010, leadership

from the Charlotte County Home-

less Coalition began assembling a

Steering Committee to develop a

program outline for the 10 Year

Plan to Prevent & End Homeless-

ness in Charlotte County. Several

key community agencies, non-

profits, hospitals and government

representatives were asked to

work on the creation of a 10 Yr

Plan.

The Steering Committee consists

of: Committee Chairman Kevin

Russell, Board of County Com-

missioners, Chairman Robert

Starr, Cecy Glenn, CEO of United

Way Charlotte, David Eastburn,

concerned private citizen, Kathy

Grey, Editor of Florida Weekly,

Michael Hirsh, concerned private

citizen, Jay Glynn, CEO

Charlotte Behavioral Health

Care, Todd Katz, President

Calusa Bank, Robert Hebert,

Charlotte County Housing

Manager, Bill Cameron,

Charlotte County Sheriff, Jo

Anna Bradshaw, Chair-

woman Harry Chapin Food

Bank, Kathy Silverberg,

United Way Board of Direc-

tors, Tom Rice, CEO HCA

Healthcare, Alex Chang,

COO HCA Healthcare, Mi-

chael Myers, CFO HCA

Healthcare, Howard Kunick,

City Manager Punta Gorda,

Chantal Phillips, Charlotte

County Public Schools, Dr

Lucy Garner, Charlotte

County Public Schools, Vic-

toria Carpenter, Director

Charlotte County Human Ser-

vices, Mary Kay Burns, Direc-

tor Charlotte County Health

Department, Ian Vincent, Char-

lotte County Public Schools

Board of Education, Angela

Hogan, Executive Director

Charlotte County Homeless

Coalition, and Michael Over-

way, HMIS Administrator

Charlotte County Homeless

Coalition.

The Steering Committee‟s first

task was to develop a Mission

Statement about homelessness

in county:

The Charlotte County 10 Year

Plan to Prevent & End Home-

lessness is a community-wide

initiative to understand home-

lessness, identify best practices

to meet the needs of the home-

less and those at risk of home-

lessness, and to forge a com-

munity consensus to imple-

ment goals and strategies to

raise the quality of life for all

Charlotte County residents.

Once this task was completed

the committee moved to de-

velop five Focus Areas: 1) Out-

reach & Community Safety, 2)

Homeless Prevention & Early

Intervention, 3) Health & Hu-

man Services, 4) Housing, 5)

Economic Stability, with Imple-

mentation of the 10 Yr Plan

being worked on by the subse-

quent Stakeholders Committee.

All five areas continue to be

developed over the course of

the next few months. “This

committee has come together to

develop solutions. It is great to

see such broad community sup-

port for the plan”, said Michael

Overway.

By September 2011 the com-

mittee hopes to have all five

areas fully developed for turn

over to the Stakeholders Com-

mittee to begin the implementa-

tion phase. The Steering Com-

mittee also plans a series of

public town hall meetings in

Englewood, Port Charlotte and

Punta Gorda to get public input.

Charlotte County Homeless Coalition Safe House was

established in December 2008. The shelter houses up to 32

men, 10 women and 5 families.

The Charlotte County Homeless Coalition serves breakfast

and dinner 365 days a year. In June 2011 we served a total

of 1,091 breakfasts and 2,927 dinners.