The Working Homeless Part 9: Is the system working?

It’s week seven since Brent Grayson signed up for public homeless assistance in Lee County. He worked and waited through the holidays, the tornadoes.

“The storm was kind of ugly because you know being out here, you got to find something basically the cover your head,” says Grayson. “I was a little wet, but hey, I went to work.”

He also weathered the near-record cold, not knowing when he’d get the help Lee County says it provides the homeless to get into places of their own.

“I get frustrated on the inside, but I say my day is going to come,” says Grayson.

A week ago, Grayson says his case manager, who forwarded our requests for an interview to her boss, told him he qualified for rental vouchers to pay for up-front costs, including first month, last month and security deposit. He’s still waiting for the County to help him convince a landlord to take in a convicted felon.

MORE: Click here for continuing coverage in The Working Homeless series

“A lot of places are rejecting me, they’re not accepting me,” says Grayson.

“I’m a person with a felony conviction, we call ourselves returning citizens. So, I know those barriers firsthand,” says Deputy Director Neil Volz, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

Volz feels Lee County’s homeless assistance services need work and Grayson’s experience proves it.

“It’s because he has some challenges to navigate the system, that we should hear his voice and hear his experiences, so that we can create a system that isn’t just geared towards one segment of the population,” says Volz. “This reminds me of the tornado we just had. When we see another person in pain, we run up to them, and we want to help them. We don’t say like, hey, do you have a past felony conviction?”

“We should do all that we can to help. Such as what you’re doing. You’re raising the visibility of how people are living in our great country, a land of abundance,” says Lee County NAACP President James Muwakkil.

As an African American, who’s also a convicted felon and once homeless, Muwakkil says he can relate to Grayson’s situation. He says County Commissioners can’t say the same.

“They don’t understand that it’s easier for family to get help being homeless than it is for an individual by himself, especially a black male,” says Muwakkil.

County Commissioner Brian Hamman tells WINK News there are plenty of services for the working homeless, including here at the Salvation Army Resource Day Center.

Hamman: “I could watch your story and maybe not get the impression that the day center even existed, because it hasn’t been highlighted yet. But I’m looking forward to seeing it highlighted in tonight’s story.”

Celine: “Well, the thing is that we haven’t been allowed in.

Brent: “Yeah.”

Celine: “We would have done that. And we’ve been asking for a month.”

All of our requests to the Salvation Army to talk about Grayson, or the working homeless in general, have been denied.

Hamman also doesn’t think we should be allowed to follow Grayson, step by step through the process, despite Grayson giving his permission.

Brent to his outreach worker: “Why? Why is that thought? If I’m giving… but it’s me and I’m giving you permission…”

“The experts tell me that they don’t believe it’s in any client’s best interest to break that confidentiality and to put those conversations on television,” says Hamman.

Lee County also denied us access to outreach workers or case managers not related to Grayson’s case.

Celine: “We were turned down by the county and that’s unfortunate.”

Hamman: “You know, sometimes you got to keep digging.”

Grayson agrees, saying, “It’s very important to let people know what’s really going on and ask these questions,”

“The people closest to the pain, closest to the problem, are usually closest to the solution,” says Volz.

“He has to fight. Okay. If he’s not getting anywhere, that’s taxpayer dollars.”

We’re pushing for access, so you can see what does and doesn’t work when it comes to public homeless assistance. As we continue to investigate, some Florida lawmakers are working on legislation (SB 1732) to reduce liability for landlords who rent to people with past felony convictions. They’re also considering legislation (HB 1259 and SB 1548) that would reduce barriers for some convicted felons to earn professional licenses.

Introduced bills:

• Senator Randolph (D): SB 1732
• Senator Spencer Roach (R): HB 1259
• Senator Keith Perry (R): SB 1548

If you want to weigh in on the conversation or have something you want us to investigate, send an email to celine.mcarthur@winknews.com.

Continuing Coverage: The Working Homeless Series