WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — West Palm Beach leaders addressed the problem of homelessness in the city on Wednesday morning.
WATCH THE NEWS CONFERENCE:
Mayor Jeri Muoio announced the formation of an outreach team to engage with homeless men and women specifically in the downtown area, and help them find job, housing, and treatment opportunities.
"I am very proud of the work that we've been doing," said Mayor Muoio. "I'm even prouder now that we are going to have a group of people focusing on downtown and seeking out the homeless, helping them to get the services that they need in a place they will be healthy."
Mayor Muoio said the city spends $4.5 million a year addressing homeless issues, and on Wednesday she challenged the state and federal government to provide additional funding.
"Right now we're using local taxpayer money to do this," said the Mayor. "We need places for people to go. We don't have those shelters for people to go."
Mayor Muoio was joined by Diana Stanley, the CEO of The Lord's Place, a non-profit that helps the homeless find life-changing services like treatment, food, and shelter.
"This work is not easy, it does not happen overnight," said Stanley. "It didn't take them overnight to become homeless, therefor it's not going to take them overnight to stop being homeless."
Representatives from the city's Housing and Community Development and Downtown Development Authority were also at Wednesday's news conference.
The organization specializes in offering one on one help to the homeless and claims to have helped 195 people get their own housing in the last two years.
