JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More questions have come into our newsroom after a local landlord said that the non-profit organization Changing Homelessness has not been paying rent on time for tenants.
RELATED: Jacksonville nonprofit accused of not paying homeless tenants’ rent for last 5 months
The story started as the concern of one landlord who had not been paid rent in five months by Changing Homelessness on behalf of a homeless tenant.
Then multiple veterans said they were getting help from Changing Homelessness, and then the non-profit stopped paying rent after one to two months.
In a previous interview, Dawn Gilman, CEO of Changing Homelessness, said payments could stop for several reasons.
Connie Lewis said she had been using Changing Homelessness for rental assistance since 2020. Then, in 2024 things were different.
“It was a rocky start from the very beginning we were really lucky to get four months out of the seven they promised me,” Lewis said. “The reason why my landlord, the owner of the property he didn’t want to deal with them anymore it took long to get payments.”
Veterans said in part:
“I recently saw your report about Changing Homelessness failing to pay rent for people in their program and I wanted to reach out because I am in the exact same situation as an Air Force veteran.”
Another veteran wrote:
“I also ended up with an eviction on my credit literally because of that agency.”
And another veteran wrote:
“I am currently a client of Changing Homelessness and it is not going well for me.”
A former case worker for Changing Homelessness, who we will identify as J.C., said she worked on about 42 cases in nine months. Almost every tenant said their rent was originally paid and as time went on, the payments stopped.
“Almost every single one of mine, unless they were on HUD VASH. HUD VASH is a program not affiliated with Changing Homelessness that also works to help veterans. That organization is not apart of this story,” J.C. said.
She said she went to her email one day and learned the payments were shut off, with no termination or notification of why.
“I think the VA needs to step in and I think HUD needs to step in,” J.C. said. “They need to look deeper and find out why these veterans haven’t been paid since last year.”
She said she didn’t want to be identified because of possible retaliation.
“Because of the way of the way they have treated me and the things they have said and done to me,” J.C. said. “There are a lot more veterans out there that want to speak, there’s some case managers out there that want to speak but they are afraid for the repercussions.”
James Tyer is an associate attorney with Story Law Group and said the application process was confusing for his clients.
“I know it was typically a tenant was in a really vulnerable position didnt have money to pay some of the expenses themselves so they would apply and they would get approved for some assistance and they would end up getting the apartment and changing homelessness would pay some amount of payments at some point for them,” Tyer said.
Watch the full interview with Tyer below.
He said that with the assistance, the tenant would fall behind, or if they relied on it and it didn’t come through, they would still fall behind on rent payments, and then the landlord would file an eviction.
“Sometimes they’d be expecting more payments to come from Changing Homelessness or they would be trying to see they would have communicated with their landlord that they are waiting for another payment and they thought that maybe that was enough to save them from going through the eviction process,” Tyer said.
They would get evicted instead.
“Yes, for the most part, they would and often times, there wouldn’t be any defenses we could raise in representation of them, so we wouldn’t be able to prevent the eviction,” Tyer said.
Tyer has seen at least five to ten clients that were with Changing Homelessness. He said the veteran has to sign the lease, not Changing Homelessness. If Changing Homelessness stops making payments for any reason, the veteran’s credit is impacted and they take on the debt.
I reached out to Gilman with follow-up questions after the initial story aired. She said the following:
Jenese Harris: Why is there a high turnover rate within the intake department employees?
Dawn Gilman: I review agency turnover rates monthly, and the rate of the intake department is not unusually high.
JH: Veterans say the process to get approved for funding is difficult and extends their timeframe of homelessness.
DG: Here is the link to the 186-page program guide from the VA that is available through a quick internet search.
As a grantee, we are required to follow the program guide and all other Federal regulations referenced within to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. To someone in a housing crisis, the requirements could seem overwhelming. We have staff whose primary function is assisting Veterans with gathering the necessary documentation.
JH: Why would some veterans have to wait three months to have a case manager if they are homeless now?
DG: Once a Veteran is determined to be eligible for the program, a case manager is assigned in three business days. No Veteran has had to wait 3 months for a case manager after being determined eligible.
JH: Why do veterans have to sign the lease agreement instead of Changing Homelessness?
DG: The Supportive Services for Veteran Families requires that the Veteran client hold the lease. Changing Homelessness is not allowed to master lease units for this program.
JH: What happens to the funding if Changing Homelessness does not pay the veterans’ rent after they are evicted?
DG: Supportive Services for Veteran Families funding is awarded on a cost-reimbursement basis. Changing Homelessness only receives funding from the VA after it is spent on financial assistance and services. The Veteran remains entitled to ongoing financial assistance and services based on the eligibility per the program guide.
JH: Why would Changing Homelessness not pay a tenant’s rent after they have been evicted if the money is still owed?
DG: Per the program guide, the Veteran must occupy the unit for the program to pay the rent. The Veteran is still eligible for ongoing financial assistance and services per the program guide, and we work to rapidly rehouse them.
JH: How many landlords remain unpaid for at least one month as of April 7th?
DG: None where all eligibility and documentation requirements have been met.
JH: Is Changing Homelessness overextended in providing services to veterans?
DG: No, by the VAs grant guidelines we meet or exceed their standards. In October 2024 we expanded our service coverage area into 47 new counties while also deploying one of the largest Veteran outreach events in the country. This happened as we continued to meet the needs of Veteran households in our system. Our Chief Veteran Program Officer has been recognized nationally for this work.
The City of Jacksonville gave a statement on their support for veterans.
While we do not provide city funding to Changing Homelessness for veteran services, our Military Affairs and Veterans Department does support veterans facing homelessness with a separate effort. Our Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program has changed the lives of more than 510 veterans with housing and job placement and an unprecedented 84% success rate. Any veteran, regardless of their housing status, can reach out to us for help with benefits, housing, employment, healthcare, legal assistance, and more. Jacksonville is proud to be the most veteran-friendly city in America because of this community support.
City of Jacksonville
