The Sarasota City Commission this week approved an eight-point plan to address homelessness, including exploring a Housing First policy and private sector support to tackle issues facing the chronically homeless. City Manager Tom Barwin spoke with SRQ about the plan. 

Why are you confident this plan is the right approach? To be able to impact the problem, you need to be able to understand its causes, and to lay out the city and community response over 26 or 27 years. The city has really stepped up historically, with the Resurrection House and the Salvation Army. The problem has evolved, and for a variety of reasons, the needs have grown. Frankly, the numbers are higher than those institutions can satisfy, especially when you consider those people who can’t utilize those institutions. But a big element of the plan is to focus more directly on providing housing—100 units of permanent supportive housing and 100 units of transitive housing—while also calling for more units to be built throughout the county. We will see if there is support for that in the community. The current approach, though the costs are hidden, is very expensive, and we are starting to put alternatives on the table and backing those up with the experience we have had here, especially on the streets in the last nine months.

How do you make sure this effort doesn’t fall by the wayside the same way parts of the Marbut plan [developed by consultant Dr. Robert Marbut after he was hired by Sarasota County and city leaders] did? We have put nine months of intensive effort, research and strategies on the table, and suggested actions with specific goals. Now let’s see what we can get done. All of us need to take a deep breath and get into the details and see what we need as a community to work on. We need to find common ground and look for win-win scenarios. What we suggest is less expensive than what was on the table before, though it may not look like that at first blush. It will save in the medium and long run while providing a much more human kind of compassionate approach… It’s one thing for a consultant to parachute in and present a cookie-cutter plan, and another thing for a very experienced community and its many actors who were involved in tackling the tough issue to draft the appropriate solutions that will work where they live. We can take everything we learned in the past couple years, including the Marbut experience, and add to it where there were some gaps. 

Read an extended version of this interview at SRQMagazine.com

Having lived and dined in Sarasota for the better part of 20 years, I relish the opportunity to try new restaurants. Sometimes the new restaurant is merely new to me, which is always fun—it’s like discovering a secret door in your living room that you never knew was there. In the case of J.R.’s Old Packinghouse Café, that secret door leads to live music, authentic Cuban food and specials as affordable as they are tasty. J.R. is the Chef Owner and he’s the real deal. Trained at Johnson & Wales and raised in Miami and Sarasota by a family in the restaurant business, he is serious about food, but that’s about the only thing he takes seriously. J.R. has a booming laugh and he’s full of fun stories but he’s quick to point out that the enchilada sauce on my giant burrito is made from scratch as is ginger sauce on the Mahi Tacos and the exceptionally popular coleslaw. The atmosphere is casual and inclusive and the bands that frequent this local favorite are extremely talented. You have to know that J.R.’s is there in order to find it, and I, for one, am happy to finally be in the know.  

J.R.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe, 987 S Packinghouse Road, Sarasota, 941-371-9358

Many people associate Goodwill Manasota with resale shops that dot our region with fabulous finds. But the organization is much, much more. As a philanthropic powerhouse, Goodwill provides employment for the disabled, vital life skills and the chance to earn an honest wage. At Goodwill Manasota, nearly 12% of employees have some type of significant disability that ranges from limited mobility to visual impairment – and Goodwill looks at their ability instead of disability, and creates jobs to help them find success in the workplace. For many, Goodwill is their only option – for others, Goodwill is a second chance.

“Success in life means a stable home environment, financial security and the ability to provide for their family,” said Goodwill Manasota President and CEO Bob Rosinsky. “This success stems from employment, which is a distant goal for many people in our community.”

Proceeds from the sale of once-loved goods are reinvested to support those who need it most: meaning your donations are doubly impactful. By providing jobs, invaluable skills, housing, veterans’ services and community programs, Goodwill enriches and changes lives. Such platforms speak of Goodwill Manasota’s innovative force – which is internationally recognized for exemplary structure and practices that serve our community in such impactful ways.

Goodwill Manasota is a 2015 SRQ Story Project partner and the featured non-profit organization this April. To learn how your donations and purchases make an impact, visit them online. 

Making an Impact

With remodeling complete and the grand opening just around the corner, Sift Bakehouse celebrated with the community last night as the first batch of cookies came out of the freshly installed ovens. A known regular of the Saturday morning Sarasota Farmers Market, selling cookies, muffins and scones, the new brick-and-mortar store on McAnsh Square will be the first permanent Sift Bakehouse location in Sarasota. In addition to offering more of owner Christine Nordstrom’s culinary creations, the Craft Scratch Bakery will also carry various goods from local producers. 

Sift Bakehouse

Stardust Skate Center announced new management at the Sarasota facility. Debbie Williams and Gary Easmunt, both formerly of Florida Wheels, were named general manager and operations manager respectively. 

Stardust Skate Center

Shaun P. Merriman, president and CEO of Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida, announced the bank was awarded the 2014 President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award for its contributions in the community.  In addition, 10 Gateway Bank employees received individual service recognition for annual volunteer hours in excess of 100. Established in 2003, the President’s Volunteer Service Award was created by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation to encourage more people to serve their communities.  The Award is available on an annual basis to individuals, groups and families who have met or exceeded requirements for volunteer service.  

Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida