Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford placed the county homeless services gap on the City Commission's Monday, Oct. 12, agenda, where commissioners will examine Jacksonville programs that advocates say are not equally available to Beaches residents.

Ford told commissioners Wednesday, Sept. 30, that private conversations indicated funding could soon extend two programs to the Beaches, according to the Beach Gazette. No Jacksonville official has publicly confirmed that commitment.

Three programs at center of discussion

The programs include the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department's Providing Assistance to the Homeless, or PATH, outreach team; the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's Homeward Bound relocation program; and JSO's Co-Responder program, which pairs police officers with licensed mental health professionals.

"I've had conversations on both the Homeward Bound and the PATH program, and I'm assured that both of them will be funded for the beach and for Atlantic Beach coming up shortly …" Ford said.

He said he had not received an answer on the Co-Responder program but expected one within two weeks.

The issue dates back at least to January 2025, when Jacksonville staff confirmed PATH and Homeward Bound were not serving the Beaches in the same manner as Jacksonville. Atlantic Beach officials questioned why an interlocal agreement should be necessary for JFRD to provide the services locally.

Jacksonville has previously said PATH outreach was intended to be countywide. City planning documents also described plans to expand Homeward Bound countywide, including to the Beaches if the municipalities were interested.

Beaches cities pressed for joint resolution

Ford plans to invite stakeholders to the Oct. 12 meeting, including Ellen Glasser, co-founder of the Beaches Homeless Coalition and a former Atlantic Beach mayor.

Glasser serves on the board of directors of Beaches News Inc., the nonprofit publisher of the Beach Gazette. Board members do not have a role in editorial decisions.

Glasser has spent weeks building support for a joint resolution among Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach. She appealed to the Atlantic Beach City Commission on Aug. 24, the Jacksonville Beach City Council on Sept. 8 and the Neptune Beach City Council during a Sept. 9 special workshop, the Beach Gazette reported Sept. 10.

"It is an issue here at the beach," Glasser told commissioners Sept. 30. "Because we are part of the consolidated county and we pay our property taxes for county services, there are at least four programs that we don't get anything back from Jacksonville on."

Commissioner Thomas Grant said he recently responded to a resident complaint involving an unhoused community member and contacted police. Grant acknowledged that officials must balance public safety concerns with providing assistance.

Coalition points to Beaches homeless population

The Beaches Homeless Coalition partners with local churches to provide cold-night shelters and other services without public funding.

Glasser said a 2025 point-in-time count identified 277 unsheltered people countywide, including 96 in the Beaches area.

No vote is scheduled Oct. 12. The City Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Atlantic Beach City Hall, 800 Seminole Road, and will be livestreamed by the city.