JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A temporary homeless shelter in Downtown Jacksonville is set to close Wednesday.
The City of Jacksonville opened the shelter after a homeless camp downtown grew out of control. City staff say many of the 200 people helped at the bridge shelter over the past month were offered a bed in another shelter, a hotel room or other housing. There were only 35 people who were staying there as of Monday night.
“A few will need a little bit more time. So, we’re arranging now with the other shelters within our community.“ Changing Homelessness CEO Dawn Gilman said. “Within our permanent shelters, we generally have somewhere between 50-75 beds on any given night. We can house everybody, even if it's in shelter.”
Gilman believes the numbers show the huge progress that's been made in a short time period.
"And just the incredible collaboration by almost every single agency within our continuum of care," she explained. “Every single client in that shelter was assigned their own case manager who volunteered to come down and did overtime to work with them.”
About 25 people were also able to find jobs with help from First Coast Community Development.
“Everybody knew that they were going to have a plan," Gilman said. "Everyone would have their plan of where they were wanting to go once the bridge shelter closed, and we're going to achieve that.”
The remaining people will be out of the temporary homeless shelter on West Ashley Street by Thursday morning, she said.
The bridge shelter opened following a tent city shutdown along Jefferson Street between State and Beaver streets. That camp grew exponentially after city leaders announced a "Pathway to Home" initiative that would move those in need of a home into a hotel room for 30 days, during which time they would be helped to find permanent housing.
The bridge shelter, which opened March 9, was meant to last 30 days. Fencing was installed along the perimeter of the former tent city to keep homeless people from setting up tents.
City officials said the homeless camp was a public health concern.
The city said volunteers at the shelter connect would people to resources like bathrooms and showers, medical, employment and social services along with food, water and hygiene kits.
In February, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry addressed the capacity at shelters during a news conference, requesting reporters spread the word to people in need of shelter while covering the homeless camp.