BOCA RATON, Fla. — Project Homeless Connect, a twice-yearly event that links unhoused community members with resources in a single location, was held in Boca Raton for the first time Monday — a shift that advocates say reflects a growing and changing homelessness crisis in south Palm Beach County.
WATCH BELOW: 'We're seeing more people experiencing homelessness for the first time,' Alexandria Ayala tells WPTV's Jamie Ostroff
The event, organized by the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, took place at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in the heart of Boca Raton. Services available included clothing, food, career assistance, health check-ups, pet food and showers.
"We got a request from stakeholders, city leadership who's prioritized this issue," said Alexandria Ayala, CEO of the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, who explained that the nature of homelessness in the county is shifting in ways that traditional data may not fully capture.
"I think that people feel that in Palm Beach County we're all closer, one paycheck away from experiencing a homeless situation than from becoming millionaires," Ayala said. "We're seeing more people experiencing homelessness for the first time... including those that are working part-time or full-time jobs, but are homeless, living in cars or living with friends. So, I think that the issue is changing and the face of homelessness as we knew it is changing."
The most recent data available from the Florida Department of Health shows a 28.5% decrease in Palm Beach County's unhoused population between 2024 and 2025. Earlier this month, Boca Raton Mayor Andy Thompson told WPTV that the city has seen an increase in homelessness over the last year or two.
Volunteer Ronald Martin spent Monday moving through the event, checking in with attendees and organizing donated clothing to distribute.
For Martin, the work is personal. He was once homeless himself, living in a tent on the beach in Boca Raton.
"I used to go to Burger King just to clean up in the morning just for the simple fact they don't have mirrors in the bathroom, so I didn't have to look at the person that I was," Martin said.
Local organizations helped connect Martin with the mental health care and housing he needed. But he said something else made the biggest difference: "They've always trusted in me. They always believed in me," Martin said.
Now, Martin said he is focused on paying that support forward.
"I got to give back. They gave so much to me, because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them," Martin said. "I like looking in the mirror now. I could be a little better looking-- but yeah, I feel good about myself."
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