U.S. HUD Secretary Ben Carson comes to Jacksonville to discuss homelessness in city

Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Ben Carson, was in Jacksonville on Monday to discuss homelessness in the city with political leaders and medical experts.

Carson and Representative John Rutherford participated in a roundtable discussion, followed by a tour of the Sulzbacher’s EnVision Center. The facility in Brentwood opened in November of 2019. It helps struggling mothers and children with daily meals, emergency housing, dental work and placement assistance.

“Those are amazing accomplishments that are really only made possible because of the EnVision idea, which is to wrap services around the individual or family,” Representative Rutherford said.

Access to affordable housing is one of the biggest struggles for the homeless population, according to a recent report by United Way Northeast Florida. The report said the number of people who do not have a place to live is up by 20%.

However, the number of families who are homeless is down by 46% compared to years prior.

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