Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 12 17 Orlando Sentinel: Center to Help Homeless Recovers .t ~ ~~ 1r~` :!: .. • ~F,. ~.; :^ • - f }• /,. ~ ~ ~.,! ~kJ ~~ ~i .i J . . ~ ~ .~ ~~~.e1 ~~ ; ~, ~~ .~~•,. - ~ F Center wants~t~~ µ~nt offer. _~ ~.. r .y ~. ~; s -, ". } ~,~: ~~ ~ hands-on ~thera to ~_ a ~ His arcs. ,gym _ ~Qr ~ • ~~ ,: . p ,M .• i pay ~, SECT~Of~~K /SUNDAY ~ A -~ .~~. DECEMBER 17, 2000 sue, ALTAMONTE SPRINGS LONGWOOD CASSELBERRY OVIEDO . WINTER SPRINGS en er o e ome ess recover The respite facility in Winter clean, warm place to recover from fore the property was purchased, City Commissioner Ed Martinez said Springs will give patients a their illnesses -has been successful Commissioner Cindy Gennell said. ~ there are too many unanswered ques- in large urban centers such as Boston "R/e had no opportunity to refuse tions about the project. What type of place to convalesce. dome and Chicago and is credited with it,"she said. people will be there? What supervision officials are leery of the plan. bringing large numbers of homeless What's more, the seven-acre parcel will they have? Will homeless people back into working society. at 350 Old Sanford-Oviedo Road will be; allowed to roam the streets of the By ROBERT PEREZ Now, Orlando's Health Care Center be taken off the city's tax rolls now city? How will they get ~o,the center? oP ~ sErrrnv~, sTnFF for the Homeless, which will operate that a nonprofit organization owns it, "It's tyot the kind oir'i~istitution that the respite center in Winter Springs, is she said. we warif in Winter Sprrirgs," he said. "I : WIIVTE~t SPRINGS - In less than a hoping the 50-bed facility will have the "I see it as probably sending prob-. guess. they have fo have a place to go, mouth, g~eound will. be broken on the. same success. lems from Orange County here," she but there'.: mt'3st ~e , a more attractive. . first convalescent center for the home- Some local officials aren't embrac- said. "It also is depriving Winter parcel for that type of setting." ' less in Florida. ing the center. Springs of its tax base and showing no Not every elected o al in the city. The relatively new concept in help- The City Commission was not con- .benefit; to the citizens of Winter ing the homeless -giving .them •a salted about the center's location be- Springs. It's not like it's a ark." P ERESPITE $4 P Lfns s , ,'~t~~ `:: ' ~ ~ .. was agent for ste,.s sale is against the center. In fact, . Mayor Paul Partyka. was the real estate agent who sold the parcel for the center. ]?artyka said the-city has an obligation to provide for all its . residents. What's more, -the re- spite-center project will extend a much-needed sewer line to the industrial park where it is situated. Supporters of the respite center. concede that city resi- dents might be concerned about the facility but said the benefits it will bring to the homeless community are great. "The only thing worse than being homeless is being home- less and sick," said the Rev. John Bluett of St. Stephen's . Catholic Church in Winter Springs. Bluett was instrumental in collecting more than $2 million in contributions, pledges and donated services to build the 25;000-square-foot center ; He . recruited the. firm of Schenkel and:: Schultz to draw up the plans; Cochrane Engineering to do the site work.and Dominic Maciaone as the general con- tractor on the project. All are donating their services: Once construction gets start- ed in January, the three-buiid- ing complex thaf will include a library, recreation room, clinic, offices and dormitories will be finished in about a year. The need for such respite centers in Central Florida is "unbelievable," said Sally Pick- ering, Health Care Center for the Homeless shelter adminis- trator. Respite centers in other parts of the country have been successful in getting as many as two-thirds of their clients off the streets, Pickering said. At least two local social serv- icegroupsare eager for the cen- ter to open. Seminole County's vocational rehabilitation pro- .. ;:: r,:..~ ~.~ gram and the` welfare-to-work program at Seminole Commu- nity College have contacted Pickering ::abbot working .with the center's clients. '`'' Health''`Caie Center for the Homeless plans to start with 15 clients ar~d expand eventually to 50 clients. The group currently oper- ates an eight-unit apartment complex for recovering tuber- culosis patients. Pickering said the tuberculosis shelter, which has operated for six years, has housed 150 patients with few problems. The lessons learned there will-help make the respite center run smoothly, she said. Pickering stressed the re- spite center will have a highly stnictured program that in- cludes training and education. Staff members will be on site 24 hours per'.'da~,-and clients will be accepted only as referrals from hospitals. If clients don't want to stay at the facility, they will be takento a shelter. _, ~:>;;.