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Tallahassee Mayor John Marks Heads To D.C. As Part Of Homeless Vets Initiative

talgov.com

Tallahassee Mayor John Marks is in Washington D.C. to take part in a national discussion about ending veteran homelessness. He says White House officials could even use Florida’s Capital city as a model.

Wednesday’s meeting at the White House is part of an ongoing initiative called the Mayors Challenge to challenge mayors across the U.S. to end veteran homelessness in their cities by the end of 2015. Marks says there are multiple reasons why he’s attending.

“1) I am a Mayor, 2) I’m a veteran, and I’m pretty sure they know that, and 3) we’re doing a lot of things in Tallahassee to assist our veterans. And, I believe they want to know what we’re doing, how it’s working, and if there’s something that we can do better or something else we can help them with,” said Marks.

Some of the city’s latest initiatives include the annual North Florida Homeless Veterans Stand Down, which provides veterans with free access to different services, like food, medical services, and job counseling. Marks says he’s also planning to talk to city commissioners soon about another proposal aimed at providing free bus services to veterans.

“Those disabled and homeless veterans, I want them to have the ability to go back and forth between jobs, health care facilities, homes, etc. And, sometimes, transportation can be an issue. So, I want to cut that issue out and hopefully, we can get something like that passed very soon,” added Marks.

Marks says he believes Tallahassee has a strong chance of ending Veteran homelessness in 2015.

For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.

Sascha Cordner has more than ten years of public radio experience. It includes working at NPR member station WUFT-FM in Gainesville for several years. She's worked in both radio and TV, serving in various capacities as a reporter, producer and anchor. She's also a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications. She is the recipient of 15 awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and Edward R. Murrow. Her award-winning stories include her coverage on the infamous “Dozier School for Boys” and a feature titled "Male Breast Cancer: Lost in the Sea of Pink." Currently, Sascha serves as the host and producer of local and state news content for the afternoon news program "All Things Considered" at WFSU. Sascha primarily covers criminal justice and social services issues. When she's not reporting, Sascha likes catching up on her favorite TV shows, singing and reading. Follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter:@SaschaCordner.