Health and Hope on Wheels: Healthmobile is the newest addition to Sulzbacher's EnVision Center

The new Healthmobile offers health and behavioral services to Jacksonville residents experiencing homelessness.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Healthmobile, HUD's Jacksonville team also set up an information booth and Staff presented literature to community residents and other local Community Service agencies.

Jacksonville residents experiencing homelessness can now count on Health and Hope on Wheels, a new service offered by Sulzbacher EnVision Center and the City of Jacksonville. The mobile clinic will bring health and behavioral assistance to the homeless in the downtown area. On March 2nd, 2020 Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, City Councilperson Aaron Bowman, Sulzbacher CEO Cindy Funkhouser, HUD Field Office Director Alesia Scott-Ford and local officials announced Sulzbacher's new, Urban Rest Stop Healthmobile.

The Healthmoblie is a result of the work of Mayor Curry's Downtown Homelessness Task Force. Formed in 2016, the task force includes representatives from Changing Homelessness, City Rescue Mission, Clara White Mission, Trinity Rescue Mission, Downtown Vision, Family Promise, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Mental Health Resource Center, Salvation Army, Jacksonville Transit Authority and Sulzbacher. The group examined the needs, gaps, offerings, and opportunities to address homelessness in downtown Jacksonville. of homeless citizens in Jacksonville communities.

Their charge was twofold, to increase the services offered to people experiencing homelessness during the day, and to increase their capacity to offer the services to homeless populations. City Council President Aaron Bowman, informed by this work and the contributions of homeless service providers, developed a three-year strategic plan approved by Council members that would provide day resources and services to benefit homeless citizens in downtown Jacksonville.

In support of the plan, the Mayor and Council committed funding to open the Urban Rest Stop at Sulzbacher's Downtown Campus. Opened a year ago, Urban Rest Stop is a place where people experiencing homelessness can go during the day to access services and supports including laundry, showers, lunch and dinner, access to computers, mail services, case management, health services, housing referrals, Goodwill Job Junction, and veteran's services.

The new Healthmobile is an extension of the health services offered at the Urban Rest Stop and will provide both medical and behavioral health services to citizens experiencing homelessness in downtown. The route includes stops at Clara White Mission, Salvation Army, Trinity Rescue Mission, City Rescue Mission, Changing Homelessness, Goodwill Industries, and Pearl Plaza. Sulzbacher Village, Florida's first EnVision Center, provides comprehensive services for homeless individuals and families to achieve a better life. Learn more about Sulzbacher here (https://sulzbacherjax.org/).

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