LOCAL

Homeless in Jacksonville for the first time: 'Frustrated, embarrassed and defeated'

Beth Reese Cravey
Florida Times-Union
Reflected in a mirror, Jasmine Jackson reads to two of her children, 5-year-old daughter Kamari Phillips, left, and 8-year-old son Keyon Phillips in the bedroom the siblings share in their new rental home on Jacksonville's Northside. Jackson and her three children were homeless for three months last year.

When multiple unfortunate circumstances collided in her life in 2022, Jasmine Jackson and her three children suddenly had no place to live but the family car. They were homeless.

She had never been in such a situation before. She had had a career in finance and been the family breadwinner. Yet, here she was. She was angry, afraid.

"It gave me anxiety through the roof," Jackson said, who was homeless for three months in Orlando and then Jacksonville. "Being a mother of three … I felt so vulnerable. I felt so helpless. Life just happens sometimes."

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About 71% of the Jacksonville-area people surveyed in an annual homeless count in January were experiencing homelessness for the first time, like Jackson. The causes behind their crises were many, ranging from rent increases or lost jobs to, in her case, a marital breakup and unemployment.

But they shared common emotions, said Mark Landschoot, executive director of Family Promise of Jacksonville, the nonprofit that helped Jackson get back on her feet.

"Callers are frustrated, embarrassed and defeated," he said.

Rent hikes leading impetus of local homelessness

As of January 2023, there were about 1,247 homeless people in the Jacksonville area, according to the annual Point In Time count conducted by Changing Homelessness, the lead homelessness prevention agency for Clay, Duval and Nassau counties. In comparison, there were 1,654 homeless people in the area in January 2019, the last time a full count was done prior to COVID-19 interruptions.

About 851 of them were sheltered, which means they had no permanent housing but were living with friends or in temporary shelter. About 396 of them were unsheltered — living on the streets or in tents or cars, according to the count report.

Overall, the total number of people experiencing homelessness in the Jacksonville area has decreased by 55% from 2013 to 2023 Also, the 10-year trend for the number of unsheltered people decreased 69% from 2013 to 2023.

"These are big numbers and represent a huge amount of work from multiple agencies," said Dawn Gilman, CEO of Changing Homelessness.

Still, Gilman said she and other homelessness prevention advocates are "concerned about the continuing increase in rental rates and how it is affecting the people we serve."

"Most shelters and transitional housing programs are at or close to capacity on any given night," she said.

Kamari Phillips, 5, plays in the bedroom she shares with her older brother in her family's rental home in Jacksonville. They were homeless for three months last year.

Shannon Nazworth is president and CEO of Ability Housing, which operates apartment complexes with supportive services for people with disabilities or at risk of homelessness in Northeast and Central Florida. The high rate of newcomers to homelessness was not typical, but explainable, she said.

Nazworth cited a 2020 Government Accountability Office report to Congress that directly tied increases in the cost of rental housing to increases in homelessness. A median rent increase of $100 per month "are associated with a 9% increase in rates of homelessness," according to the report.

In Jacksonville, a tight housing market has exacerbated the situation, along with high interest rates that led to national and international investors, she said.

"It's supply and demand," Nazworth said.

Many people who contact Ability Housing for help are or are about to be homeless for the first time, most had received word of a rent increase or a lease not being renewed.

"They're desperate, trying to figure out what to do," she said.

Gilman said most of the newcomers to homelessness will find help, permanent housing and never be homeless again. And more affordable housing units are in Ability Housing's pipeline and will be available in 2024 or 2025.

One of the nonprofit's projects will add 210 units to Duval County, another will add 92 units to St. Johns County. And Nazworth said she sees some improvement in how Northeast Florida handles homelessness.

"The numbers are getting worse because of the housing market. But we know so much more about better ways to do things," she said.

Many Americans cannot handle unexpected expenses

At Family Promise, most clients are experiencing homelessness for the first time, Landschoot said. A rent hike is the leading "driving force," he said.

"A rent increase has taken them from a place of relative stability to facing the possibility of homelessness," Landschoot said. "Rent increases aggravate other issues such as food, gas and medical costs. Another factor is landlords require more money upfront and higher credit scores."

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In May 2023, the median rent in Jacksonville stands at $1,449, roughly the same as April, and down 0.1% year-over-year, according to ApartmentList.com. But rent costs have proved volatile. In February the Jacksonville area's median rent was 7.46% over a year ago, according to Rent.com.

Meanwhile, about 32% of American adults cannot afford an unexpected expense of $400 without going into debt, such as using a credit card, according to the Federal Reserve. And a rent increase is an unexpected expense multiplied by 12 months. About 11% of all adults said they would be unable to pay the expense at all. The impact was disproportionate for Black and Hispanic adults, as well as adults with lower income, according to the agency.

Darrell Dow, development manager at Jacksonville's Trinity Rescue Mission, said about 25% of the nonprofit's clients have not been homeless before. The leading causes for their dire straits were drug and alcohol addiction, eviction, family-related issues, job loss and financial difficulties, mental health challenges, personal crises, lack of a support system, legal issues and relocation difficulties, he said.

Kamari Phillips, 5, brings mother Jasmine Jackson a book to read while her brother Keyon Phillips, 8, plays with his soccer ball in the bedroom the siblings share in their rental home in Jacksonville. The children, their mother and another sibling were living in the family car at times last year.

"Based on our information we collect, most women experiencing homelessness for the first time arrive in a state of fear, confusion, anxiety and uncertainty. As for the men, they arrive in a state of hurt, depression, confusion and defeat," he said.

A report from Princeton University's Eviction Lab compiled eviction judgment records from 74 U.S. metropolitan areas, including Jacksonville. Although the number of evictions in city centers held steady from 2000 to 2016, the share of evictions in suburban areas increased in 58 of the metropolitan areas.

Jacksonville had 7,822 evictions in 2016, according to the report.

Mom and 3 kids living in a car: 'I was so tired'

The impetus behind Jackson's homelessness was her husband's latest departure from the family unit. They lived in New Jersey, but the couple separated and her husband went to Orlando to stay with his family. Jackson and her children later relocated there as well, in Jackson's last attempt at reconciliation.

After a brief time together in an apartment, he left again. She had no job, the apartment lease expired, Orlando-area homelessness prevention agencies had waiting lists or no funds available to help her. She and her children relocated again — to their 25-year-old car, a 1997 Lexus ES sedan.

They spent most nights there, but sometimes she raised enough money as a Door Dash driver to pay for a motel room.

Jackson never lost her faith.

"I only had God to depend on," she said. He was her anchor, "what kept my sanity," she said, and he sent people to help.

While homeless in Orlando, Jackson and her children attended a church where members would occasionally "bless" them with money or food. After one Sunday service, Jackson received a $50 blessing in the parking lot and went back inside to give a tithe to the church. A pastor asked how she was and she told him she was homeless.

That interaction led to the church giving her enough money to get to Jacksonville, where her sister had just gotten a job and a new apartment and offered the family a temporary place to live. But the tight apartment quarters led to a conflict with the sister and they were back in the car.

"I was so tired. I didn't know what else to do," Jackson said. "My estranged husband was not helping."

Still, she had faith "God still had a plan," she said.

Jasmine Jackson spends time with two of her children, daughter Kamari Phillips, 5, and son Keyon Phillips, 8, in the siblings' bedroom in the home they're renting in Jacksonville.

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For a time, they lived in the car in the parking lot of a local motel, where a staffer let them eat continental breakfast inside and gave Jackson a list of local resources to call. One of the numbers was to Family Promise, which led to Jackson's rejuvenation.

By the time she connected with the nonprofit, her car had run out of gas from running the air conditioner during the hot summer nights. So two Family Promise staffers came to her and put gas in her car so she could get to their office. Their shelter had no space that day, so they fed the family and paid for them to stay at a hotel.

One of the staffers said, "You are never going to sleep in your car again," Jackson said, which brought her a "sense of relief … Someone cared." She still remembers that "peaceful night of sleep," she said. "That was all I felt I needed to make it to the next day."

While homeless, she had landed a remote work job at VyStar Credit Union, which was about to start. The shelter was her remote workspace during the day, the family went back to the hotel at night. When the school year started, the children were enrolled. Ultimately, space opened at a Family Promise shelter and that was their temporary home as Jackson saved money for a rental.

"We were beginning to thrive," Jackson said, "because of the love and support we received from Family Promise."

In December the family moved into a rental home on the Northside. Jackson has since gotten a new job working for the IRS and a new car. Her estranged husband is now providing court-ordered child support. And the children — now ages 14, 8 and 5 — are happily settled. Jackson credits Family Promise for surrounding them with love and a "sense of hope."

Jasmine Jackson reads with two of her children, 5-year-old daughter Kamari Phillips and 8-year-old son Keyon Phillips in their bedroom in their new rental home on Jacksonville's Northside. Jackson and her three children were living out of their car for three months last year.

How many people might be living in a car?

Changing Homelessness plans a supplemental count in June to get a better handle on the critical unsheltered population. Volunteers are needed to help with the count, which will be Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.

"This will allow us to focus on the unique population in each of the three counties we serve and better coordinate all of our efforts," Gilman said. "The economic and housing environments continue to shift rapidly and we need to know who is experiencing homelessness and what they need so we can plan how best to focus our limited resources."

All such counts provide a "snapshot of people experiencing homelessness," according to the agency.

"The data gathered … shows us so much more than how many people are homeless — we also learn more about who is homeless and why," according to the agency.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

CHANGING HOMELESSNESS

The summer count will be June 27 in Duval County, June 28 in Clay County and June 29 in Nassau County. Volunteers must complete a 1½-hour training. To register as a volunteer and get training dates and other information, go to nefl.pointintime.info.

Changing Homelessness is at 660 Park St., Jacksonville 32204; (844) 367-7783; or go to changinghomelessness.org.

FAMILY PROMISE OF JACKSONVILLE

P.O. Box 40363, Jacksonville 32203; (904) 354-1818; info@familypromisejax.org; familypromisejax.org

TRINITY RESCUE MISSION

622 West Union St., Jacksonville 32202; (904) 355-1205; trinityrescue.org

ABILITY HOUSING

Housing office, 3740 Beach Blvd., Suite 304, Jacksonville 32207; (904) 359-9650; abilityhousing.org