November is already off to a brisk start and while most people are bundled up in blankets at home, there still many homeless residents tackling the cold weather.
But perhaps there's something we can do about it.
On Wednesday, a panel and community discussion will be held at the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville where the issue of veteran and civilian homelessness will be discussed along with solutions that have proven to be successful in other cities.
The event is part of the Built for Zero Northeast Florida's Week of Valor: Progress Towards Functional Zero. The group is comprised of local and federal organizations working to end chronic and veteran homelessness by January 2020. The nationwide effort is now focused on Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.
"We've already brought down the homeless veteran population by over 80 percent,” Dawn Gilman who serves as the President & CEO of Changing Homelessness said. “We know every veteran by name in the three-county area that is experiencing homelessness."
A team of community partners are working together on this initiative including Catholic Charities, Jacksonville Housing Authority, Sulzbacher, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Ability Housing, City of Jacksonville and the Clara White Mission.
The event will be held at the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville located at 303 N. Laura Street from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.