Jacksonville’s PATH team—short for “Providing Assistance to the Homeless”—is on the frontlines of tackling the city’s homelessness issue amid a Florida law that bans people without homes from sleeping outdoors overnight in public places.
The seven-person team, made up of Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) members, works one-on-one with unhoused individuals to connect them with resources and shelter.
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Captain Jennifer Parramore, who leads the group, explained their approach.
“We approach people all throughout downtown Jacksonville and just have a conversation. ‘Can we help you?’ We’re here to help and give them a list of resources that’s available,” she said.
However, those resources are becoming increasingly limited as shelters across the city operate at or near full capacity.
“We are at full capacity right now,” Parramore said. “We definitely need more bed space for individuals, women, men, and children. We’ve even gotten children off the street—eight and eleven-year-olds recently. That’s heartbreaking.”
While the PATH Team focuses on connecting people with shelter and services, enforcement of the city’s public sleeping ban falls to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). Since Oct. 1, 2024, JSO has issued 529 warnings, made 86 arrests, and handed out 27 notices to appear.
A push for more shelter beds
Local shelters, like City Rescue Mission, report being at capacity nightly—but progress is being made.
Paul Stasi, Executive Director of City Rescue Mission, said their downtown campus restructuring has made 26 additional beds available as part of the city’s broader plan to reduce homelessness.
“We’re working with the city,” Stasi said. “Once we have a contract, we can proceed and start filling those beds.”
Since late November, according to the city, the PATH Team has made 900 contacts and transported 60 individuals to Trinity Rescue Mission.
The city council also approved $1.3 million to create 96 new shelter beds across three area shelters. Of those, 44 beds at Trinity Rescue Mission are now full, with 26 beds at Salvation Army and another 26 at City Rescue Mission expected to open soon.
Homelessness beyond downtown
Councilmember Rory Diamond highlighted another challenge. He said unhoused individuals are increasingly moving to Jacksonville Beach, where he said no overnight shelters exist.
“When they see homeless folks coming in, [organizations] like Mission House and Sulzbacher ask, ‘Where are you from?’ And we’re finding out that they’re from downtown,” Diamond explained.
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The Mayor’s Office addressed these developments, stating, “We had a productive meeting about solutions with the Beaches municipalities in December and continue to be in communication about options. The City’s outreach efforts and JFRD PATH Team activities were always meant to be countywide.”
Long-term challenges
Despite efforts to expand shelters, the issue remains complicated. Changing Homelessness, an organization focused on housing solutions, noted that while they can fill shelters, they’re struggling to transition people out within 90 days due to a lack of available housing.
“Because of the housing situation, the shelters remain. How we’ve described it, like within our system it feels stuck, right? If the average length of stay and shelter used to be less than 70 days, now it’s over 100 days. 120 days, people are just longer because it’s harder for them to find their next place that they’re going, that they’re moving to,” said CEO of Changing Homelessness, Dawn Gilman.