Since January 1,2023, the City of Tallahassee has relocated over 650 homeless people – who have no ties to Tallahassee – to locations outside of Leon County. The relocations – facilitated by the HOST Team – help the homeless get closer to family, begin new jobs, seek care in hospitals, and to avoid unsafe situations, such as domestic violence and human trafficking. The Leon County Sheriff ’s Office (LCSO) Homeless Outreach Street Team (HOST) began in January 2022, and has two full-time Deputies that support all of Leon County. These specialized Deputies work in conjunction with the City of Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Police Department to address homelessness-related concerns and provide support for those in need. Tallahassee Reports interviewed Ron Burnett, who is a supervisor with the city who works with the HOST Program, about the relocation process. Burnett has worked with the homeless since 2011 and has been working with the HOST program since 2022. Homeless Relocated to Tallahassee Mr. Burnett told TR that the homeless arrive in Tallahassee in a multitude of ways. He recalled two homeless people being dropped off at the Kearney Center – Leon County’s homeless shelter – by two Panama City police officers. TR was told that the Kearney Center is the only homeless shelter between Pensacola and Jacksonville and so a number of North Florida homeless are directed to Tallahassee. Brunett said the state of Missouri recently bought a bus ticket for a prisoner who was released after serving his sentence to relocate to Tallahassee. The prisoner was blind and wandered around Tallahassee after arriving before receiving help. Mr. Burnett told TR of a homeless network that speaks highly of Tallahassee and the Kearney Center and said he was told of advertisements being run in some states encouraging people to migrate to the Capitol city. However, the reality is that Tallahassee does not have the shelters to house the homeless moving to Tallahassee or the services that are needed. When the homeless arrive and discover this reality, the homeless disperse throughout the community, encampments pop up and complaints from business and others increase. Mr. Burnett described a recent issue with 10-15 homeless encampments located off of West Pensacola Street near White Drive, just down from the Kearney Center. The Relocation Process Mr. Burnett told TR that when encampments pop up, he and two LCSO deputies start the process of evaluating who is occupying the encampments and make enquiries about relocation. Burnett said most of the homeless who arrived in Tallahassee are disillusioned by their situation and simply want to be relocated near family. This category makes up approximately 520 of the 676 people relocated. For this group, Mr. Burnett establishes contact with family members and purchases a bus ticket. During this period, approximately 25 homeless have told Burnett they have jobs in other locations but cannot afford transportation. Burnette verifies the jobs are real and then helps with transportation. In more desperate situations, where domestic violence and mental health issues are present, Burnett works the homeless to get them to locations where they can get help. “We are helping people.” Mr. Burnett told TR that the relocation process is purely voluntary and happens when homeless people reach out to him. Burnett gave the example of a homeless person who has left a rehab facility in another city and traveled to Tallahassee but has reached a point where they want to return to rehab. Burnett said he will purchase that person a bus ticket after verifying certain information. Burnette said the relocation program started when he found a homeless person in Tallahassee whose family had asked him to return home for a funeral. The person asked for help and Burnett received permission to purchase a bus ticket with city funds. Since then, the program has grown. Burnette told TR “we are helping people” and I can see the impact as I travel around the community. Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad, who approved the program, said that Burnett’s work with the HOST Team is the “most productive effort in managing the homeless population.” Goad added, “things like this are tough to measure, but we are having an impact on a difficult situation.”