Many people experiencing homelessness live literally off the beaten path and reaching them can be a challenge for advocates who want to offer services. Opening Doors Northwest Florida, the area’s lead agency on homelessness, is working to change that with its new Santa Rosa Bicycle Outreach program.
The organization held a ribbon cutting in Milton, near the head of the Blackwater Heritage Trail, on May 22 to officially kick off the first-of-its-kind program for Opening Doors.
Volunteers will use e-bikes provided by Opening Doors to travel along the 20-mile-long trail where people often camp.
During the most recent Point-in-Time count, Cady said there were 43 homeless individuals in Santa Rosa County, but he believes that number is much higher.
“What I identified was a gap in the homeless response and homeless services network here in Santa Rosa County,” said Opening Doors Executive Director Bruce Cady. “What we started is the homeless service delivery network for street outreach.”
Opening Doors purchased four electric bicycles, or e-bikes, with a $10,000 grant, put the program out for bid to find a provider, and selected Pensacola-based nonprofit Offentsive to do the work.
Offentsive outreach volunteers are already trekking into the woods and abandoned properties throughout Northwest Florida—any space where people who are homeless are camping or finding shelter—to offer them food, medical supplies and a way out if they want it.
Offentsive Director of Education Ashley Welborn said the e-bikes will help them reach people they may have missed.
She said they’ll be riding along the Blackwater Heritage Trail on Tuesdays and Thursdays and expect to start next week.
“Just doing the regular outreach, we don’t have access to them on foot because it’s like 20 miles round trip,” Welborn said, “so we’re pretty excited to get to the people that may be slipping through the cracks.”
“JC” stopped by on his bicycle to watch the ribbon cutting. He says he has been couch surfing for some time and is glad to see more people providing services to folks who are struggling.
“Somebody needs to do it because there’s only one church and one guy who runs around feeding homeless people here in the streets. None of these other bigger churches do it,” JC said.
Cady and outreach volunteers say the goal is to make people aware of the different services and programs available to help them get off the street.
There are as many different reasons for homelessness as there are people, but often mental illness, substance abuse, and a lack of affordable housing are at the root of it for many.
State Rep. Michelle Salzman was there for the ribbon cutting.
From a legislative perspective she said homelessness is a snapshot of the many issues facing the community, including a lack of resources to help the people struggling with addiction, mental illness and no affordable place to live.
“When you can get that partnership from an organization like Opening Doors to help facilitate some of the activity and empower and grow the services of organizations like Offensive, then you save more lives,” Salzman said. “These collaborative efforts are going to exponentially increase our impact in the communities because we’re drowning in overdoses. We might not be drowning in deaths as much as we were because we have access to Narcan, but we need so many more resources.”
Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay attended the ribbon cutting, as well, and she is appreciative of the outreach work.
“I think it’s fantastic. We have a rising problem in terms of homelessness because of the housing crisis, the lack of affordable housing,” Lindsay said. “We need to put together all kinds of solutions to help improve everyone’s lives and everyone’s chances of rebuilding their lives.”
Mark Woolson, owner of Truly Spokin Bicycle Shop in Milton, often sees folks who are homeless heading back and forth to camps along the Blackwater Heritage Trail. His shop is near where it starts.
Many come by for assistance fixing their bikes, to the point that he leaves used parts out for them to use. He is glad to see more outreach efforts and even helped outfit the equipment the volunteers are using.
“I see different faces all the time,” Woolson said. “Some are down on their luck; some don’t want help. It’s pretty diverse. They’re coming and going. Every year there’s different ones. Every week there’s different ones, but there are some that have been around for years. I’m glad and excited to be involved in it.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: How e-bikes could change homeless outreach in Santa Rosa County
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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