Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition

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  • Myths of Homelessness Part 5: “Providing Services Just Enables Them”

    Lived Experience Perspective

    This series is written from lived experience. Posts are authored by Red Conrad, a Co-Founder and the Strategic Alliance Lead of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, and other coalition members who have experienced homelessness firsthand. We’re giving you an inside look at the reality behind the myths.

    Myths of Homelessness Table of Contents 

    You cannot “enable” a human being into wanting to sleep in the woods.

    Yet this is one of the most common arguments against providing basic services to our unhoused neighbors—that a hot meal or a shower somehow makes homelessness preferable. This isn’t just cruel. It’s operationally wrong.

    The Reality Behind the Myth

    I bathed in my van. I parked overnight in the shelter parking lot—before that shelter closed—because it was one of the few places I could do so without getting “the knock.” I slept there with my dog, ran delivery gigs during the day, filled out job applications between orders, and tried to rebuild my business from the driver’s seat.

    I had no mailing address. No permanent place to receive mail or documents. Every job application that asked for an address was a reminder that the system wasn’t built for someone in my situation.

    And yet—I was trying. Every single day.

    Now imagine if I hadn’t had that shelter parking lot. No safe place to park overnight, nowhere to bathe, no anchor point in my day. The mental energy required just to find those basics would have consumed everything I had left for job searching, gig work, and business rebuilding.

    Services aren’t a cushion. They’re friction reducers. They lower the level of crisis just enough for a person to reclaim the mental bandwidth required to actually climb out.

    Some claim people “game the system” by using services without trying to improve their situation. But what system? The one that costs taxpayers $85 per day in emergency responses while providing no pathway to stability? The one where you can’t get a job without a mailing address, but can’t get a mailing address without a job? There’s nothing to “game” here—there’s only survival. And the people who talk about “gaming the system” rarely mention that the current system is designed to fail, cycling people through expensive crisis interventions instead of providing the basic infrastructure that would actually help them escape homelessness.

    The “Enabling” Fallacy

    The idea that basic survival services—hygiene access, food, a mailing address—make someone “want” to stay homeless is a fundamental misunderstanding of how humans actually climb out of crisis.

    Nobody chooses wet socks and a van over a warm bed. Nobody turns down stability because the shelter parking lot was too comfortable. What services do is reduce the immediate desperation enough to make long-term thinking possible.

    When your entire focus is where you’ll find water, food, and a safe place to sleep in the next six hours, you don’t have the mental bandwidth for a career plan. That’s not a character flaw—that’s how the human brain works under sustained crisis. We covered this in Myth #4: survival mode is real, and it shuts down long-term planning.

    Services interrupt that cycle. They don’t perpetuate it.

    The Operational Reality

    In operations management, if a VP refused to give their field team the equipment they needed because “it might make them soft,” that leader would be replaced—and rightfully so. You provide the tools required to get the job done.

    The goal here is self-sufficiency. Services are the tools that make that possible—the clean clothes, the working phone number, the mailing address that lets someone actually receive a job offer letter.

    I filled out job applications with no mailing address to put on them. Think about what that costs someone in opportunity. A mailing address isn’t a luxury—it’s a basic requirement for participating in the economy. Refusing to provide it doesn’t make someone work harder to get housed. It just guarantees another rejection letter gets returned to sender.

    In any other industry, we call this a bottleneck. In homelessness advocacy, people call it “tough love.” It’s time we call it what it really is: a systemic failure.

    And as we established in Myth #3: keeping someone in that cycle of crisis costs taxpayers approximately $85 per day in emergency response. Providing the services that break that cycle costs far less. This isn’t charity—it’s math.

    The Dignity Factor

    I’ve seen—and lived—how something as simple as being able to bathe and put on clean clothes can be the difference between walking into a job interview with confidence or not going at all.

    You cannot pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you don’t have boots—or a place to wash the street off your face.

    Withholding services doesn’t motivate people to find housing faster. It strips them of the dignity and basic functionality required to even begin that process.

    The Bottom Line

    You cannot “enable” a human being into wanting to sleep in the woods.

    What you can do is provide the infrastructure—hygiene, food, a mailing address, a safe overnight location—that gives someone just enough stability to start climbing out. And while services reduce friction and open the door to progress, we also need more affordable housing and livable wages to make long-term stability sustainable.

    One without the other isn’t a solution. It’s a waiting room.

    Have you seen how access to basic services changed someone’s path? Share your experience in the comments.

    Get Involved:

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition advocates for the services and infrastructure that make recovery possible—because you can’t solve homelessness by making it harder to survive.

     

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk?
    Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community.
    Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute.
    Together, we build a fuller picture.

  • Myths of Homelessness Part 4: “It’s Just a Drug or Mental Health Problem”

    Lived Experience Perspective

    This series is written from lived experience. Posts are authored by Red Conrad, a Co-Founder and Strategic Alliance Lead of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, and other coalition members who have experienced homelessness firsthand. We’re giving you an inside look at the reality behind the myths.

    This post includes testimony from Beth (@voiceofbeth on Instagram/Threads). Her complete testimony is the ‘Voices from the Street // Beth: Sober, Employable, and Breaking Every Stereotype’, used with permission.

    Myths of Homelessness Table of Contents 

    The Diagnosis That Followed Me

    I was diagnosed with depression at 16, then again at 25. For years, I managed it. I had stability, routines, medication, a life that worked. I wasn’t “cured,” but I was functional.

    Then I lost my wife to cancer. Then I lost my home. Then I was living in my van.*¹

    My depression didn’t cause my homelessness—but homelessness nearly destroyed me with it.

    In Part 2, I shared how my depression—which I’d managed for years—became overwhelming once I lost my wife and my home. That’s the pattern: homelessness doesn’t cause mental health issues, but it makes existing conditions exponentially worse.

    The Myth vs. The Reality

    One of the most persistent myths about homelessness is that it’s fundamentally a “drug or mental health problem”—that if we just “fix” people’s addiction or mental illness, homelessness will solve itself.

    This gets the causation backwards.

    While substance use and mental health challenges are present in the homeless population, they are frequently the result of the trauma of displacement, not the initial cause. In Putnam County, the primary drivers of homelessness are economic: a lack of affordable housing and wages that don’t cover rent. The mental health crisis and substance use often come after someone loses their housing, not before.

    When Survival Makes You Sick

    I had my depression under control—until I didn’t have a place to live. Then everything that kept me stable disappeared.

    The constant hypervigilance. Wondering where I could park each night without getting “the knock” from police. Where I could park during the day between gigs without being told to move. The mental energy spent trying to look “normal” so potential employers wouldn’t realize I was living in my van. The days I didn’t know if I could keep going.

    Living on the street in Florida means extreme sleep deprivation, physical danger, and constant “fight or flight” stress. Your nervous system never gets to rest. You can’t sleep deeply because you need to stay alert. You can’t plan for tomorrow because you’re barely surviving today.

    This is when people turn to substances—not because they’re “addicts” who caused their own homelessness, but because they’re trying to survive it. Some use stimulants to stay awake at night for safety. Others use alcohol or other substances to numb the physical pain of sleeping on concrete, or to quiet the anxiety long enough to get a few hours of rest.

    I watched it happen. People who weren’t using before they became homeless, self-medicating just to endure another day.

    Beth, who shares her experience on Instagram as @voiceofbeth, puts it bluntly: “Not everybody’s an addict. I, for one, am stone cold sober. I’m quite employable. I was leaving a bad situation and I thought that homelessness would be better for my mental health, and it is.” But she also describes how easy it is to fall into substance use when you’re stuck without resources or transportation: “Eventually, after a while of being homeless, you can veer off into that real easy because there’s not a lot you can do…You might as well smoke a bowl. You might as well, you know, whatever, smoke meth or whatever you’re doing, drink a beer.” It’s not that homeless people are addicts—it’s that homelessness creates the conditions where substance use becomes a survival mechanism.

    The Impossible Catch-22

    Here’s what people don’t understand about the “just get treatment” argument: You cannot effectively treat a clinical diagnosis while someone is living in a tent or a vehicle.

    I had depression before I was homeless. I knew what treatment looked like. But try accessing mental health care when:

    • You don’t have a stable address for appointment reminders
    • You don’t have a shower to show up clean and “presentable”
    • You don’t have a guarantee your car won’t be towed while you’re in the waiting room
    • You’re spending 100% of your mental energy on immediate survival

    The system says “get stable, then we’ll help you with housing.” But you can’t get stable without housing. That’s not a pathway—that’s a trap.

    Stability is the prerequisite for recovery, not the reward for it.

    The Economic Reality

    The majority of people experiencing homelessness in Putnam County are “economically homeless”—families and individuals who are one car breakdown or medical bill away from the street, regardless of their mental health status.

    I had a business. I had skills. I had work ethic. What I didn’t have was affordable housing in a county where market-rate rents average $1,500 and wages haven’t kept pace. When crisis hit, there was no safety net.

    Using addiction or mental illness as an excuse to withhold housing is backwards. If we want people to be healthy and sober, we have to provide the foundation—stable housing—that makes health possible.

    The Operational Logic

    In business, if a piece of equipment consistently fails, a poor manager blames the “quality” of the machine. A strategic leader looks at the operating environment. If you run a machine at 110% capacity in a room with no ventilation, it will break.

    Our unhoused neighbors aren’t “broken people.” They’re human beings trying to function in an environment designed to break them. Sleep deprivation, constant stress, no medical care, no stability—this environment would damage anyone’s mental health.

    The Coalition’s Approach

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition advocates for Housing First models.

    Get people housed first. Then provide support services. Then watch recovery become possible.

    This isn’t enabling—it’s strategic. You can’t address mental health or addiction while someone is fighting for survival on the street. You provide the stable foundation, then you build the supports.

    This isn’t just compassionate. It’s effective. And it costs taxpayers less than our current crisis-management approach of cycling people through emergency rooms, jails, and police calls.*²

    Get Involved:

    The answer to Putnam County’s homelessness crisis isn’t more judgment about addiction or mental health. It’s more housing.

    Join the Coalition or Volunteer for the Rapid Response Team

    Support our mission 

    Join our Facebook Group and Like/Follow our Facebook Page

    Share this post to your Nextdoor or Facebook groups to challenge the narrative.

    References:

     

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk?
    Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story for the ‘Voices From The Street’ series.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community.
    Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute.
    Together, we build a fuller picture.

     

    Guest Voice: Beth shares her experience of homelessness across multiple states on Threads and Instagram as @voiceofbeth. Her full testimony is ‘Voices from the Street // Beth: Sober, Employable, and Breaking Every Stereotype‘

  • Myths of Homelessness Part 3: “They Don’t Contribute to the Tax Base”

    Lived Experience Perspective

    This series is written from lived experience. Posts are authored by Red Conrad, a Co-Founder and Strategic Alliance Lead of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, and other coalition members who have experienced homelessness firsthand. We’re giving you an inside look at the reality behind the myths.

    Myths of Homelessness Table of Contents

    The Tax Burden Accusation

    I was living in my van, running delivery gigs to keep gas in the tank and food in my dog’s bowl. One of the most common myths about homelessness is that we’re “tax burdens” who contribute nothing.

    I had just paid 7% sales tax on the bottle of water I bought at the gas station. I’d paid excise taxes on the fuel I needed to work. Every delivery fee, every grocery order, every dollar I earned while trying to stay afloat—all of it flowing through a system that taxes consumption, not addresses.

    But the myth persists.

    This isn’t just my story—it’s the reality for countless unhoused workers in Putnam County. Let me show you the actual ledger.

    The Consumption Tax Reality

    Florida is one of the few states with no state income tax, which means our state and local budgets rely heavily on sales and excise taxes. This is a system that taxes transactions, not housing status.

    • Every Transaction Counts: When an unhoused neighbor buys a bottle of water, a meal, or a pair of socks in Palatka, they pay the same 7% sales tax (6% state + 1% county) as any other resident. There’s no checkbox on the receipt that says “exempt if homeless.”
    • Excise Taxes: Those who own a vehicle or purchase fuel are paying heavy excise taxes that go directly toward infrastructure and public works—revenue streams that don’t require a permanent zip code. When I was filling my van’s tank to run deliveries, I was paying for roads just like everyone else. So is every other unhoused person who owns a vehicle and works.
    • The “Hidden” Property Tax: Even if someone isn’t a homeowner, if they scrape together enough for a week at a local motel or a spot at a campsite, a portion of that payment goes toward property taxes and the county’s 4% tourist development (“bed”) tax that funds local government services.

    The Working Taxpayer

    As we established in Part 1 of this series, roughly 40% of unhoused individuals are employed. But even beyond traditional W-2 jobs, gig workers and self-employed people like I was are paying into the system constantly.

    • Self-Employment Taxes: When you’re self-employed—running a small business, doing gig work, trying to piece together income—you’re paying self-employment tax at 15.3% on every dollar you earn. I paid it. Every unhoused person doing DoorDash, Instacart, or freelance work pays it. That’s Social Security and Medicare contributions, whether you have an address or not.
    • Payroll Deductions: For those working W-2 jobs in kitchens or warehouses in Putnam County, employers are legally required to withhold federal taxes, Social Security, and Medicare from every check.
    • The Refund Gap: Many unhoused workers lack a stable address to receive tax documents or the funds for tax prep, so they often overpay by never claiming the refunds they’re owed. They’re overpaying the government while sleeping in their cars. That’s not a burden—that’s being robbed.

    The Real Tax Burden: The Cost of Inaction

    Here’s what actually costs Putnam County taxpayers money. From an executive perspective, the real “tax burden” isn’t the individual experiencing homelessness—it’s the cost of our current system of crisis management instead of solutions.

    The math is stark:

    • Keeping someone unhoused costs taxpayers approximately $85 per day
    • Providing permanent supportive housing costs approximately $28 per day
    • That’s a $57 per day difference—over $20,000 per year in savings per person

    Where does that $85 per day come from when we don’t provide housing?

    1. Police Response: Approximately $31,000 per year in law enforcement costs ($200-800 per call for “no trespassing,” “loitering,” or welfare checks that cycle the same individuals through the system repeatedly)
    2. Emergency Medical Services: Approximately $31,000 per year in EMS transport and hospital visits (Central Florida data)—often for preventable conditions like heat exhaustion, hypothermia, or infected wounds that wouldn’t happen with stable housing
    3. Court Processing: Up to $415 per offense for citations and court processing for minor infractions that are essentially “the crime of being homeless”

    This is the most expensive possible way to handle homelessness. We’re spending $85 per day per person to keep people in crisis instead of $28 per day to stabilize them.

    The Bottom Line

    Our unhoused neighbors are consumers, they are often workers, and they are taxpayers. They contribute to the very pot of public funds that—right now—is being spent on expensive crisis management instead of the permanent housing and support services that would actually save money.

    I paid taxes while living in my van. I paid sales tax, fuel tax, and self-employment tax. I was contributing to a system that had no room for me, while that same system spent $85 per day managing my homelessness instead of $28 per day solving it.

    I’m not unique. This is the reality for working unhoused people across Putnam County.

    We don’t have a “lack of contribution” problem in Putnam County. We have an allocation problem. We’re spending taxpayer money in the most wasteful way possible.

    Get Involved:

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is advocating for the investments that actually save taxpayers money while treating people with dignity and helping them get back on their feet.

     

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk?
    Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community.
    Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute.
    Together, we build a fuller picture.

  • Voices From The Street // Beth: Sober, Employable, and Breaking Every Stereotype

    Welcome to Voices From The Street, a new sub-series under Myths of Homelessness. Here, we amplify real stories from people with lived experience—raw, unfiltered insights that challenge stereotypes and humanize the crisis. We start with Beth (@voiceofbeth on Instagram/Threads), who shared this powerful audio message. Her experiences across multiple cities show homelessness isn’t defined by addiction, low intelligence, or pests—it’s about survival, resilience, and systemic gaps.

    Follow Beth on Instagram and Threads

    If you found this post from links in the Myths of Homelessness series Parts 2, 4, 7, 8, 12 (as they publish), be sure to give her a follow. If you have a story to share for the ‘Voices From The Street’ sub series of the ‘Myths of Homelessness’ series, you can opt to remain anonymous, send your submission to PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com

    Key Insights from Beth

    Not Everyone Is an Addict

    Beth is clear: “I, for one, am stone cold sober. I’m quite employable… I was leaving a bad situation and I thought that homelessness would be better for my mental health, and it is. So not everybody’s an addict.”

    She explains how addiction can emerge later as a response to isolation and lack of options: “Eventually… you can veer off into that real easy because there’s not a lot you can do… you’re stuck… you might as well smoke a bowl… drink a beer.”

    This aligns with research showing substance use is frequently a consequence of homelessness rather than the sole cause—many people begin or increase use as a way to cope with trauma, boredom, and limited access to support.

    Intelligence, Creativity, and Resourcefulness

    “A lot of people who have never been homeless equate homelessness with a lack of intelligence… the people that I have found to be homeless, they are some of the most amazing people… some of the most creative, some of the most brilliant…”

    She shares the story of Shawn and Becky in the Biloxi/Gulfport area:

    “It was a trash pile when they started… By the time this dude was done… it had like a little pathway… tiny sticks lining the pathway… old basin as handwashing station… these guys went above and beyond.”

    Beth observes that many unhoused people demonstrate exceptional problem-solving and adaptability, often struggling to fit rigid social or work structures rather than lacking ability.

    The Bed Bugs Myth and Shelter Realities

    “Not all homeless people have bed bugs… Campers never have bed bugs because… bed bugs cannot survive… sunlight.”

    In contrast, she describes severe infestations in shelters and low-budget hotels: “this place [in Miami]… was overrun with bed bugs… even in their… clothes closet… supposed to have been heat treated… thousands of dead bed bugs.”

    This highlights a key reason many avoid shelters: fear of pests, strict rules (tiny lockers, item limits), and loss of possessions—especially for newly unhoused people who haven’t yet “gone through that purge… death of materialism.”

    Dehumanization and Basic Dignity

    “If you’ve never been homeless… you don’t know what it’s like when you can’t even use a restroom… people are mocking you… shitting behind a bush. Well, if you treated me like a human, I would have just used the toilet.”

    Beth emphasizes that small acts of dignity (access to bathrooms, respect, resources) make an enormous difference.

    Connecting to R.I.S.E. in Putnam County

    Beth’s story underscores why structured, dignified solutions matter: safe bathrooms, case management to prevent isolation spirals, skills training to support employable people, and a welcoming hub that honors creativity and resilience. Florida’s 2025 Council on Homelessness Report shows real progress—9.13% statewide drop in homelessness and 19.1% decline in unsheltered cases through targeted partnerships and coordination. Our Program is built on the same principle: local, accessible resources that help neighbors rebuild stability in their own community.

    Transcription (Edited Lightly for Clarity/Flow)

    [0:00] Hey, Red Conrad. This is for your myths of homelessness uh for the Putnam homeless solutions blog, vlog, whatever you’re doing over there. First of all, I want to say hi. I’m Beth from @voiceofbeth on Instagram. There are a lot of myths about the homeless. The one that really comes to mind for me personally is that everybody who’s homeless is an addict or like a prostitute or something like that. I, for one, am stone cold sober. I’m quite employable. You know, I’m just—I was leaving a bad situation and I thought that homelessness would be better for my mental health, and it is. So, not everybody’s an addict. Eventually, after a while of being homeless, you can veer off into that real easy because there’s not a lot you can do. Especially like if you don’t have access to public transportation, if you don’t have access to resources, if you’re just stuck homeless up in a mountain town, you’re screwed. You might as well smoke a bowl. You might as well, you know, whatever, smoke meth or whatever you’re doing, drink a beer. So not every homeless person is an addict.

    [1:39] Also, a lot of people who have never been homeless equate homelessness with a lack of intelligence. In my experience—and I’ve been homeless in Dallas, I’ve been homeless in Miami, I’ve been homeless in Biloxi, I’ve been homeless in Gulfport. I’m now homeless in Oregon—the people that I have found to be homeless, they are some of the most amazing people that you will meet. Now, are there some jerks and stuff in there? Some real scary, creepy people? Yes. Is it the majority? Not necessarily. It depends on your area. It depends on who your little crowd is. I’ve met some of the most creative, some of the most brilliant homeless people that you wouldn’t even believe it.

    [2:58] Specifically, there was this one couple, Shawn and Becky, that I met in the Biloxi Gulfport area. They—just like every other homeless person—they didn’t have anything to do all day. And, you know, you don’t just stay up on your phone. You’re on your phone a little bit, but you don’t stay up on your phone because you don’t know when you’re going to charge next, you know, unless you have a system down. So, they spent their time—Shawn specifically—built… It was a trash pile when they started, right? By the time this dude was done with it, this thing was amazing. Okay, it had like a little pathway. Little tiny sticks were lining the pathway. Like he used this old basin and like that was the handwashing station. Like these guys went above and beyond and they are only one example of so many that I have found across the nation that were just brilliant. Some of them painted shells to earn money. Some of them played music and busked. You know, they’re… Homeless people—when you see a homeless person, I can almost guarantee you they have a higher than average IQ. And that’s why they’re homeless, too, is because they can’t exist within a lot of the social structures we have today within working and stuff like that. Maybe they have a slight mental illness, but it’s manageable. You know what I mean? Like there—people just… on the homeless. I’m never going to understand it.

    [4:21] Another myth is that homeless people have bed bugs. They do not. If you’re looking for bed bugs, they can have them, but they don’t come from campers. Like there’s different tiers of homelessness. And one tier is like where you have a tent set up in some wilderness part of an urban area or even a country area, a rural area. And those are like campers, right? The campers never have bed bugs because the bed bugs cannot survive in any type of sunlight. Now, if you live in a shelter—if you… there was a shelter I stayed at in Miami, I think called Chapman, I believe it’s 1550 North Miami Avenue or something like that. Anyway, this place was overrun with bed bugs, okay? Overrun. It was even in their stores of like they had like a clothes closet and this was supposed to have been heat treated, right? And it was supposed to have been sanitized or whatever they do with their processes there. It was not. Like I—my ex, I was with a dude at that time and my ex pulled out one of those braided belts from like the early 90s late 80s and it was just thousands of dead bed bugs in there. It was so gross. There was just bed bugs everywhere. So like shelters might have bed bugs. Campers don’t have them. Low budget hotels that you can stay pay by the week—they were in a Dallas hotel that I stayed at. It was so horrible. The bed bugs are just horrendous. So that’s another myth. Not all homeless people have bed bugs.

    [5:45] Okay, they’re not addicts. They’re not stupid. They don’t have bed bugs. Not all of them anyway. And I’m trying to think what else do they have? What other myths are there? There’s so friggin many. You can’t just go to a shelter. And it’s not just about the lack of beds and funding. There’s a lot of things like you’re only allowed so many items. In some shelters you only have a teeny tiny locker. And if you just are newly homeless, you have a ton of stuff still. You haven’t gone through that purge of items since you haven’t gone through that death of materialism yet. So there’s a lot, there’s a lot of myths. If I think of more, Red Conrad, I will definitely send you some. I wish you well on your mission. I know you deserve it. I like to see these homeless organizations being run by somebody who actually was homeless. You know, I mean, even if you haven’t been, it’s good to have a heart for the homeless, but at the same time, like, if you’ve never been homeless, you don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it’s like when you can’t even use a restroom, you know? And like, people are mocking you for seeing you drive down the side of the road and you’re shitting behind a bush. Well, if you treated me like a human, I would have just used the toilet. You know what I mean? So, anyway, bye, Red Conrad. Edit this video how you need to. I hope you have a great rest of your day.

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk? Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story to the Voices From The Street series; you can opt to remain anonymous.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community. Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute. Together, we build a fuller picture.

  • Myths of Homelessness Part 2: “They Choose to Live This Way”

    Lived Experience Perspective

    This series is written from lived experience. Posts are authored by Red Conrad, a Co-Founder and the Strategic Alliance Lead of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, and other coalition members who have experienced homelessness firsthand. We’re giving you an inside look at the reality behind the myths.

    This post includes testimony from Beth (@voiceofbeth on Instagram/Threads). Her complete testimony is the ‘Voices from the Street // Beth: Sober, Employable, and Breaking Every Stereotype’, used with permission.

    Myths of Homelessness Table of Contents 

    The Cruelest Myth

    I’ve heard people say that “people choose to be homeless.” Let me explain what that “choice” actually looked like for me, as someone with lived experience of homelessness, and for many others who’ve shared their similar stories with our coalition.

    I lost my wife to cancer. The grief locked me away—clinically depressed, unable to leave the house for anything beyond survival. I crashed my business not through laziness but through paralysis: I could handle repeat customers who already knew me, but every new phone call felt insurmountable. I moved friends in who had nowhere else to go, hoping they’d help me stay afloat. Instead, on a single day while I was out working, I came home to find I’d been robbed and my property destroyed. That was day one of living in my van with my dog.

    As we discussed in Myth Part 1, 40% of unhoused people are employed. So the question isn’t ‘Why don’t they just get a job?’—it’s ‘Why does having a job still leave them homeless?’ The answer: Because when you’re fighting depression while living in a van, even having work doesn’t create the stability you need to escape.

    That’s not a “choice.” That’s a cascade of loss that moves faster than any human can recover from.

    And yet people still ask “Why don’t you just try harder?” As if depression, grief, and systemic barriers could be overcome through sheer willpower. As if the problem was my work ethic, not the fact that I’d lost everything in a matter of weeks. I was trying—every single day. I was running delivery gigs while living in my van. I was trying to rebuild my business from a parking lot. But “trying harder” doesn’t create affordable housing. It doesn’t erase grief. It doesn’t fix a broken system. The bootstrap mentality assumes everyone starts with boots—and a stable place to put them on.

    The myth that people “choose” homelessness suggests that living in a tent in the Florida humidity, facing constant threat of theft, losing access to basic rights like voting (no address for registration) or even standing in a public park without being told to move along, is somehow a “preferable” lifestyle. What people mistake for “choice” is actually the absence of viable exits.

    Beth, who shares her experience as @voiceofbeth on Instagram, made what looked like a “choice” to become homeless: “I was leaving a bad situation and I thought that homelessness would be better for my mental health, and it is.” But that’s not choosing homelessness as a preference—that’s choosing homelessness as the least bad option when you’re fleeing danger. When the alternative is staying in an abusive situation, living in your car or a tent isn’t a “lifestyle choice”—it’s survival.

    The “Service-Resistant” Fallacy

    In Putnam County, we often hear that people are “service-resistant”—that they “refuse help.” But we need to ask: What is the actual quality of the “help” being offered?

    • The Vanishing Safety Net: Palatka’s only overnight shelter closed in November 2025 due to city zoning and code violations at its church-based location, leaving dozens without any local alternative. The “choice” for many wasn’t between a bed and a tent; it was between a tent, the back of a car, or a jail cell. There was no “right” option—and no replacement overnight facility has opened since.
    • The Impossible Rules: With our local shelter gone, the nearest alternatives often require: no pets, mandatory religious services, or a 30-day substance-free verification. For someone with an untreated mental health crisis or someone whose only companion is the dog that’s kept them safe and gives them purpose to keep living, “refusing help” isn’t about wanting to be homeless—it’s about refusing to surrender the last shred of stability or dignity you have left. When your choice is between a shelter bed and abandoning the dog that watched over you in that van on your first night homeless, what would you choose?
    • The Bureaucratic Maze: I remember sitting in a library trying to fill out a housing application while simultaneously calculating whether I had enough gas to make it to the free meal site and back to where I was sleeping. My brain kept choosing the gas calculation. Every. Single. Time. That’s not laziness—that’s survival mode.

    The Neuroscience of Survival

    When you’re unhoused, your brain shifts into what researchers call “Survival Mode.” Your prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain used for long-term planning, budgeting, and career moves—effectively shuts down to prioritize immediate safety.

    • Decision Fatigue: When every ounce of energy is spent finding water, avoiding the police, and keeping your gear dry, you don’t have the bandwidth to navigate complex social service systems that take months to yield results. You can’t “plan your way out” when your brain is wired for “survive today.”
    • The “I’m Fine” Defense: After being turned away enough times—wrong zip code, missed a deadline, didn’t have the right paperwork—it becomes psychologically easier to say “I prefer it out here” than to keep admitting the system has no space for you. The “choice” becomes a defense mechanism against the repeated trauma of rejection.

    The Operational Reality

    In Putnam County, poverty affects about 20.7% of residents (per recent Census estimates), and unemployment hovered around 5.7% in late 2025 (higher than Florida’s statewide average). Statewide, Florida faces a massive affordable housing shortage, with only 26 rental homes affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households, and a need for over 411,000 more such units. When the “exit ramp” out of homelessness requires a $3,000+ down payment (first month, last month, and security deposit) plus a 650+ credit score, the path out is effectively blocked for someone making minimum wage—especially someone whose credit was destroyed during the crisis that made them homeless in the first place.

    Staying on the street isn’t a choice; it’s a consequence of a market where the bottom rungs of the ladder have been removed entirely.

    Break the Stigma:

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is building the exit ramps that don’t currently exist. We advocate for Housing First solutions and programs that meet people where they are, rather than demanding they solve their own crisis before they deserve help.

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk?
    Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story for the ‘Voices From The Street’ series.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community.
    Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute.
    Together, we build a fuller picture.

     

    Guest Voice: Beth shares her experience of homelessness across multiple states on Threads and Instagram as @voiceofbeth. Her full testimony is ‘Voices from the Street // Beth: Sober, Employable, and Breaking Every Stereotype‘

  • Myths of Homelessness Part 1: “They Just Need to Get a Job”

    Lived Experience Perspective

    This series is written from lived experience. Posts are authored by Red Conrad, a Co-Founder and Strategic Alliance Lead of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, and other coalition members who have experienced homelessness firsthand. We’re giving you an inside look at the reality behind the myths.

    Myths of Homelessness Table of Contents 

    The Boardroom vs. The Street

    As someone who spent years as a VP of Operations and running my own service businesses, I’ve seen the world through the lens of spreadsheets, P&L statements, and hiring cycles.

    But as someone who was homeless myself before co-founding the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, I’ve also seen the world from the pavement—right here in rural Putnam County, Florida, a place where poverty affects 23.9% of residents and the unemployment rate sits at 6.3%—higher than Florida’s statewide average of 4.2%. I’ve walked those streets myself during tough times, experiencing firsthand the exhaustion of trying to hold down work while sleeping in a vehicle or tent, constantly worrying about where my next meal or shower would come from. That lived experience drives every bit of our coalition’s work.

    The most common “solution” I hear from well-intentioned people is simple: “They just need to get a job.” It’s logical, but it collapses under scrutiny. Here’s why that “simple” solution is a logistical nightmare, especially in a place like Putnam.

    The Logistics of the Impossible

    In the professional world, we talk about “barriers to entry.” For our unhoused neighbors in Putnam, those barriers are often insurmountable without a front door:

    • The Paperwork Trap: Federal law (I-9 requirements) requires valid ID and social security cards to start a job. If your bag is stolen during a camp sweep—as happened to dozens when Palatka’s only overnight shelter closed last fall—you’re effectively “un-hireable” until you spend weeks navigating a bureaucratic maze to replace them, with no money, no transportation, and limited resources in our spread-out rural county.
    • The Address Filter: Most HR software automatically flags applications without a physical residential address. Before a hiring manager even sees your skills, the system has already discarded you. In rural Putnam County, where over 40% of renter households are cost-burdened—spending more than 40% of their income on housing—finding stable housing becomes nearly impossible without steady employment, creating an impossible catch-22.
    • The Hygiene Hurdle: Try staying “office ready” or even “manual labor ready” when you have no place to shower, iron a shirt, or even store your work boots safely overnight. With public facilities scarce and transportation limited, basic upkeep becomes a daily battle.

    The Invisible Workforce: The “Double Life”

    Here is the reality that many people miss: Many of our homeless neighbors in Putnam County already have jobs. They are the “Invisible Workforce”—the person stocking the shelves at 3 AM or the prep cook making your lunch. In fact, national trends show up to 40% of unhoused individuals are employed, and local anecdotes from our coalition partners confirm this pattern here. Because of the stigma I’ve seen firsthand in the business world—and felt myself when I was in their shoes—they live a high-stakes double life:

    • The Silence: They don’t talk about their “weekend” because their weekend was spent moving their car every few hours to avoid a trespass notice—or relocating after the recent shelter shutdown left dozens without options.
    • The Hygiene Hustle: They use gym memberships or gas station sinks to stay professional because they know the moment a boss finds out they are unhoused, they become a “liability” in the eyes of HR.
    • The Constant Friction: There is nothing less “operationally efficient” than a human being forced to spend 40% of their mental energy just pretending they have a home to go back to, all while navigating Putnam’s limited public transit and rural isolation.

    The Bottom Line

    Employment is a tool, but a tool is useless if you have nowhere to store it and no foundation to stand on while using it. We have people working 40 hours a week in our county who still cannot save enough for a security deposit and first month’s rent—especially with market-rate rents averaging around $1,500 monthly (even HUD’s “fair market rent” for a two-bedroom is $996), far outpacing wages in our service-heavy economy. Add in that 28% of children here live in poverty, and the cycle deepens.

    We need to stop telling people to “get to work” and start building the infrastructure that makes keeping a job possible. Housing First isn’t a handout; it’s the only logical starting point for a stable workforce—particularly after events like the Palatka shelter closure highlight how fragile our local support systems are.

    Get Involved:

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is working to remove these barriers—from ID recovery to hygiene resources and advocating for permanent shelters.

    Help us build a stronger, more stable community.

    Follow this series: Over the coming weeks, we’ll debunk more myths—from “they choose to live this way” to “it’s too expensive to fix.” Each post draws from lived experience and local data to challenge the narrative around homelessness in Putnam County.

    Share Your Story

    Have lived experience, frontline insight, or a Putnam-specific myth to debunk?
    Coalition partners, advocates, and neighbors are invited to contribute a guest post or share your story.

    Your insights help us drive the reality of homelessness in our community.
    Email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com to contribute.
    Together, we build a fuller picture.

  • The Hidden Price Tag: Why Solving Homelessness is a Fiscal Win

    We often hear the objection that building housing capacity is “too expensive.” But this assumes the status quo is free. It’s not. In fact, the status quo has a hidden price tag that far exceeds the cost of solutions—we just pay it in the most inefficient ways possible.

    In the boardroom, we talk about ROI (Return on Investment). In community leadership, we talk about the Social Safety Net. Usually, these two worlds are treated as opposites. But when it comes to homelessness in Putnam County, the fiscal reality is simple: Doing nothing is the most expensive option we have.

    In our upcoming post “‘Myths of Homelessness’ Part 6: “It’s Too Expensive to Fix””, we’ll break down these costs with specific Putnam County data and show exactly where your tax dollars are going right now. But first, let’s look at the national and state picture.

    As we outlined in our recent post on the gap between compassion and capacity, current efforts provide a vital safety net—yet systemic gaps (like dedicated chronic and veterans housing) keep people cycling through crises.

    The “Emergency Only” Expense Loop

    When a neighbor has no path to stability, they don’t stop costing the county money; they just cost it in the most inefficient ways possible. Without a “Welcome Home” or chronic housing options, the system defaults to:  

    • Emergency Services: A single ER visit for a preventable condition costs thousands—often absorbed by the taxpayer or the hospital. Nationally and in Florida communities, chronic homelessness drives frequent crisis use, with unhoused individuals costing taxpayers $30,000–$50,000+ per person per year in emergency healthcare, law enforcement, and related services.
    • Law Enforcement: Officers trained for public safety find themselves navigating housing crises—work they’re neither equipped nor budgeted for. 
    • The Judicial Cycle: Jailing someone for “crimes of survival” (like sleeping in public) costs a daily rate that far exceeds the cost of supportive housing.

    From “System Consumer” to “Community Contributor”

    The goal of the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition isn’t just to provide charity; it’s to move people out of the “Emergency Loop.”  

    When we provide a path to Stability, we change the economic math:  

    • Reduced Burden: Frequent users of emergency services see a massive drop in crisis incidents once they are housed—proven supportive housing models consistently show 40–60% reductions in emergency service use, hospitalizations, and jail time, with net taxpayer savings of $900–$29,400 per person annually with North Central Florida examples estimating ~$29,000 in annual taxpayer savings per person housed.
    • Resource Reallocation: Police and EMS can focus on public safety and life-saving emergencies rather than navigating the gaps in our housing system. 
    • The Local Economy: Stability allows for employment. Employment leads to local spending. More importantly, stability allows people to rebuild their lives—to work, to contribute, to become neighbors rather than statistics. This is how we begin to restore the tax base.

    Investing in Solutions, Not Symptoms

    If you ran a business where a specific machine kept breaking down, you wouldn’t just keep paying for expensive, daily emergency repairs forever. You’d invest in fixing the machine so it could get back to work. And if your competitors were getting better performance with 30-68% lower costs? You’d be studying their model immediately.

    Our current system is paying for “emergency repairs” every single day. The Coalition is here to fix the machine.  

    By filling the gaps we identified in our Resource Gap Analysis, we aren’t just being “nice.” We are being smart. Recent analyses of proven Housing First models show supportive housing often costs 30–68% less overall than the status quo—yielding returns like $1.44 in savings for every $1 invested. We are choosing to invest in a permanent foundation that yields a better return for every resident of Putnam County.

    Want to see what this looks like specifically in Putnam County? In our upcoming ‘Myths of Homelessness’ series Part 6: “It’s Too Expensive to Fix” breaks down the local costs with researched and compiled data. Subscribe to the Insights or Like/Follow our Facebook Page so you don’t miss a post. 

    The Coalition is building that permanent foundation. The fiscal case is clear. The moral case is clear. What remains is the choice: continue paying the hidden price tag, or invest in solutions that work. If you’re ready to be part of the solution, join us.

  • Invitation to Partners and Advocates: Join the Portal for Better Coordination Together

    To partners, advocates, and all who are committed to this important mission in Putnam County,

    The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition belongs to every one of us who steps forward—every organization, every individual advocate, every agency and community member working to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in our neighborhoods. It is not owned by any single person or group; it is strengthened by the diverse contributions of all who join in.

    With that shared commitment in view, we are opening greater opportunities for collaboration through our central tools and online spaces.

    The Partner Portal

    If you are already part of this effort—whether through a partner organization, nonprofit, government agency, faith-based group, or as a dedicated independent advocate—the Partner Portal is now available to you. This secure hub allows us to coordinate more effectively: sharing resources, reviewing real-time data, tracking key legislation like the Gloria Johnson Act, and aligning our work so we build on each other’s strengths instead of duplicating efforts or leaving needs unmet.

    Clear steps for access, including login instructions, accepting invitations (check spam folders for messages from me or the coalition), and troubleshooting, are on the dedicated page: Partner Portal Information

    If you run into any hurdles or need help getting set up, email PutnamHomelessSolutions@gmail.com with the subject “Partner Portal Access Request.” Include your name, organization or role, and any details that would help. I will handle it personally and promptly.

    Voluntary Opportunity to Help Moderate Our Facebook Page and Group

    Our Facebook Page and Group are intended to reflect the full range of voices and experiences in Putnam County, creating a space that is supportive, inclusive, and focused on solutions. If you are interested and able, we would value your help moderating: reviewing posts, responding thoughtfully, and helping keep the conversation constructive.

    This is completely voluntary and not a requirement for partnership, Portal access, or any level of involvement. We respect the different demands on everyone’s time, whether direct services, fieldwork, administrative duties, or other priorities. If moderation does not fit right now, that is fully understood. I am prepared and equipped to continue as the sole Social Media Manager for the Coalition, managing posts, engagement, and oversight, so no added burden falls on you.

    How to Move Forward

    This work succeeds because of our collective effort—our shared dedication to transparency, practical solutions, and lasting stability for our neighbors. Whether you step into the Portal for better coordination, offer time to moderate, or continue your vital contributions on the ground, every part matters and moves us closer to ending homelessness here.

    Thank you for your ongoing commitment to this cause. I look forward to working together.

  • The Gap Between Compassion and Capacity

    In our last post, we discussed the Gloria Johnson Act and why punishing our neighbors for surviving in public spaces is a failing strategy. So where does that leave us? If the street isn’t the answer, where is the solution?

    We often hear that “we have plenty of churches and charities helping.” This is true. Putnam County is home to incredibly dedicated organizations. Every day, groups like Bread of Life in Palatka and Interlachen Soup Kitchen Ministries provide hot meals. Organizations like Epic-Cure, St. Monica’s, and St. Vincent DePaul work tirelessly to distribute groceries across the county. We even have specialized recovery support through SMA Healthcare and The Nehemiah Project.

    But there’s a crucial difference between a safety net and a path home.

    The Current Reality: The Missing Pieces

    While our community excels at providing a meal or a grocery bag, our own resource guide shows where the system stops. When we look at what our most vulnerable neighbors actually need, we find too many blank spaces:

    • Chronic Homeless Housing: There is no designated facility in Putnam County for those facing long-term homelessness.
    • Veterans Housing: Despite their service, we lack local, specialized housing for veterans in crisis.
    • When Geography Becomes Destiny: Our data shows that while Palatka and Interlachen have some resources, residents in Florahome, Satsuma, Crescent City, Georgetown, or Lake Como have almost no access to local emergency services. No car or bus pass? You’re left stranded.
    • The Shelter Gap: We have fantastic specialized shelters like the Lee Conlee House for domestic violence survivors and CDS for at-risk youth. But a single adult or a couple with no children who simply has nowhere to go tonight? The list is empty.

    Moving From “Survival” to “Stability”

    While vital programs provide the daily support that keeps our neighbors alive, the Coalition is focused on the next step: moving from survival to stability.

    Charity alone is a band-aid. To make real progress, we need better coordination between these organizations and the people who need them. We need something beyond a hurricane shelter or a temporary mat—we need a “Welcome Home” that provides the stability someone needs to finally look toward the future.

    We have added a Resource Gap Analysis to our Partner Portal, where our partner organizations are currently working together to identify every missing service and coordinate a fix. We aren’t just guessing; we are using real-time data to build a better system.

    What’s Next?

    On February 20th, our Coalition will meet at the First Baptist Church of Palatka (12:00 PM)

    We’re identifying exactly where the holes are—specifically those missing pieces for our veterans and chronically homeless neighbors—and how we, as a community, are going to fill them.

     

     

    While we’re working towards these solutions, you can help by donating blessing bags (visit the Blessing Bag Resource Page for information) and check out our Volunteer page to join the Rapid Response Team or the Join The Coalition page to join us. 

    Join our Facebook Group and Like/Follow our Facebook Page

  • After Grants Pass: Why Putnam County Needs the Gloria Johnson Act

    The landscape of homelessness advocacy changed on June 28, 2024, when the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision allowed for the punishing of homeless individuals even when no alternative shelter is available. In response, the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is working to introduce a new path forward: The Gloria Johnson Act—a model policy named after Gloria Johnson of Grants Pass, Oregon, and now being adopted by communities nationwide—offers a blueprint for protecting human dignity while creating smarter solutions.

    What is the Gloria Johnson Act?

    Our draft of the “Gloria Johnson Anti-Cruelty to Floridians Experiencing Homelessness Act” is designed to protect the basic human rights of our neighbors while creating a smarter, more cost-effective system for our county.

    Key Pillars of Our Proposed Act:

    • Decriminalizing Survival: The Act would eliminate counter-productive criminal penalties for “life-sustaining activities”—like sleeping or resting—when adequate alternative indoor space is not available.
    • Defining “Adequate” Shelter: We aren’t just talking about a mat on a floor. Our Act defines adequate space as accessible, at no charge, and able to accommodate disabilities, possessions, and even pets or partners.
    • Shifting Resources to Solutions: By decriminalizing rest, our local government can redirect resources from law enforcement and jailing toward addressing the root causes of poverty.
    • Legal Protection: Under the Act, someone cannot be punished for sleeping outside if the government cannot prove that safe, accessible shelter was actually available to them.

    A Proven Approach

    The Gloria Johnson Act isn’t just a good idea—it’s a proven model. Since early 2025, versions of the Gloria Johnson Act have been introduced in 11 different state legislatures (including California and Maryland). A federal version—the Housing Not Handcuffs Act—was reintroduced in Congress by Rep. Pramila Jayapal in 2025, using very similar language.

    The core principle of the “Right to Rest” has already been signed into law in Rhode Island (2012), Connecticut (2013), and Illinois (2013), where Homeless Bill of Rights protections have reduced criminalization while protecting constitutional rights. Putnam County has the opportunity to join this growing movement and be a leader in Florida.

    Why This Matters for Putnam County

    Fining and jailing people who have nowhere to go doesn’t stop homelessness; it only creates a vicious cycle of debt and criminal records that makes finding a home even harder. We believe in Housing, not Handcuffs.

    Be a Part of the Solution

    We are currently working to bring this draft to the attention of our legislators. Your support and your voice are what will turn this draft into a reality for Putnam County.

    Join us at our next meeting:

    Date: February 20th, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

    Location: First Baptist Church of Palatka

    Can’t attend? Here’s how you can help:

    • Contact your Putnam County Commissioner and urge them to support the Gloria Johnson Act (template drafts available to download on the Gloria Johnson Act page )
    • Share this message with your neighbors, faith community, and on social media