JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Homelessness is perhaps one of the most pressing issues for many cities across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2024 “Point in Time Count” released on Friday, homelessness was up 18% across the nation in 2024 compared to in 2023.
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In Jacksonville, the issue is equally as urgent not just from a humanitarian standpoint, but economic development standpoint as well, with a downtown area seeking an economic boom in the coming years – through projects like the incoming University of Florida graduate campus, new Four Seasons hotel, and Jacksonville Jaguars “Stadium of the Future.”
“When you have a lot of homeless folks that are, you know, on streets, sidewalks … it doesn’t make for the best chemistry for people to wanna build downtown, particularly in the core,” Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci explained to Action News Jax on Saturday. “And that’s really where we need to grow - in the downtown core.”
Yet, according to the Northeast Florida “Point in Time” survey data revealed this past July, the amount of unsheltered homeless people across Northeast Florida went up over 40% compared to in 2023.
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Nonetheless, with the $1.3 million approved for extra downtown homeless shelter beds and the extra $1 million approved for Jacksonville Fire & Rescue homeless outreach Action News Jax told you about in early December, Carlucci says the city has in the final few months of 2024 been picking up positive momentum in addressing the needs of the city’s homeless community in 2025 and beyond.
“It seems like we’ve moved the needle a bit in the right way and there’s fewer,” Carlucci said. “Once that happens then you begin to get some economic development activity in that core downtown.”
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While Councilman Carlucci says the city is trending in the right direction – having taken some major steps to combat homelessness downtown and across the river city – he did say there’s much work needed to be done in 2025 to address the issue of homelessness in Jacksonville.
“We need more housing. We need a better outreach to the individuals that need mental health help. We need more resources for that,” Carlucci said
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