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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #3311 |
| Turning Point |
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| Requester: |
Doug Leonardo |
Organization: |
WestCare Florida |
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| Project Title: |
Turning Point |
Date Submitted |
1/13/2006 3:45:47 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Sebesta |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| Turning Point - a 56-bed, homeless, inebriate intervention and placement center - is the only program of its kind in the State of Florida. As a result, we accept clients from throughout the State. The homeless population is highly transient; therefore, individuals from all parts of Florida find their way to Turning Point. By engaging the homeless in our services, we focus on increasing their motivation to begin the process of recovery, thereby, enhancing individual functionality. Recovery from substance use and/or mental health disorders with concurrent transition from homelessness has the positive impact of decreasing interventions by law enforcement and the courts, days in jail, visits to emergency rooms for primary care treatment, and admissions to psychiatric units for stabilization with a concomitant reduction in the fiscal burden on the State's indigent primary/ behavioral healthcare and criminal justice systems. |
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| Recipient: |
WestCare Florida |
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Contact: |
Doug Leonardo |
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2525 1st Avenue South |
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Contact Phone: |
(727) 328-1752 |
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St. Petersburg 33712 |
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Contact email: |
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| Counties: |
{Statewide} |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| Through this proposed project, Turning Point will be able to accomplish three primary goals: First, to assist law enforcement in their efforts to appropriately place homeless lower level offenders who have both substance abuse and mental health problems, without the expense of taking them to jail and bogging down the criminal justice system. Second, the project will also assist the business community by moving homeless men and women off the streets and into an environment where there is 24 hour supervision, thus increasing access to businesses and improving the overall safety of the community. Finally, it will allow for the development of a multidisciplinary team of professionals. The team will triage homeless persons who present themselves to accurately screen and assess urgent as well as short-and long-term needs; provide crisis intervention services; initiate pre-service motivational counseling to engage potential clients in the treatment process; facilitate integrated primary healthcare, substance abuse, and mental health services that stabilize the client and refer to other treatment entities as needed; coordinate referrals with transitional and permanent housing providers; and provide case management that matches homeless clients with appropriate primary and behavioral health, social, vocational, housing, transportation, and other subsistence services. |
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| This program will support the Federal and State goal to end chronic homelessness by accomplishing the following objectives: A multidisciplinary professional team will triage 100 percent homeless inebriants admitted annually for services at Turning Point to assess urgent as well as short- and long-term individual needs. The team will initiate referrals to treatment and other services that match the assessed individual needs for 100 percent of homeless inebriates triaged annually. The team will provide case management services that support transitional or permanent housing solutions for at least 75 percent of homeless inebriates triaged. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$300,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$1,062,500 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local, Private |
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Cash Amount |
$120,000 |
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In-kind Amount |
$212,500 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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No |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$300,000 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
2004-05 Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Action Plan for Homelessness |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
Pinellas County Legislative Delegation |
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Hearing Meeting Date: |
12/01/2005 |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
