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Mayor Gillum Working To End Veteran Homelessness In Tallahassee

Andrew Gillum speaking at the DCF quarterly council on homelessness.
Nick Evans

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is touting a pledge to end veteran homelessness in the city.  He spoke about the initiative Friday at a meeting of homelessness stakeholders in Tallahassee. 

Homelessness is an ongoing issue, and in recent years its prevalence among veterans has been particularly distressing for government officials.  Mayor Gillum points to a Tallahassee housing project called Home Front that provides low-cost rent for veterans, but he says it’s just one piece of the puzzle.

“It’ll take more projects like that,” Gillum says, “but the key is making sure we can assist these folks in getting jobs so they can afford to live in a community like ours.”

Gillum says Susan Pourciau, President of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition, encouraged him to sign a pledge to end veteran homelessness in the Tallahassee during this year’s point-in-time homelessness counts.  He spoke at the quarterly meeting of the Department of Children and Families’ council on homelessness.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.