We believe in the power of stories. This one particularly resonates with us.
One day, walking along the beach, a man happened upon a young child. From a distance, he thought they were playing happily in the surf. But as he neared, he watched them methodically stoop, scoop something up and run with it into the sea.
They were saving starfish, washed upon the shore.
He said to them, ‘Why are you spending your day at the beach collecting starfish and throwing them back into the ocean? There are so many on the shore – you can’t save them all!’
The child smiled happily and exclaimed, ‘I know that, but I can save the lives of these starfish!'
He laughed, and agreed that they were right.
He kicked off his shoes, and joined the child, helping as many starfish as they could get back to sea.
Dave's House works with community partners and supporters to develop permanent supportive housing for individuals living with SMI. Your support helps us help them.
The personal costs associated with homeless individuals suffering from SMI are immeasurable – unachieved individual goals as well as loss of familial connections and societal contribution. The costs to the community, however, are very measurable – and staggering.
30-45%
Percentage of Florida’s 105,000 homeless living with mental illness
$1.3 million per day
Cost of over 125,000 incarcerated Floridians living in prisons – $500 million annually
$31,065
The average annual cost of an individual living sick in homelessness – cycling in and out of incarceration, emergency rooms and inpatient hospitalizations
$10,051
The average annual cost of an individual living well in permanent supportive housing
$21,014
Annual cost savings per individual
68%
Reduction in annual community costs per individual
$3,323,955
The average annual cost of 107 homeless individuals with SMI
$33,239,553
The 10-year total cost of 107 homeless individuals with SMI
$149,220,414
Taxpayer savings from providing permanent supportive housing to just 50% of the current chronic homeless population in Central Florida over a 10 year period, with a 10% recidivism rate
Statistics Source: The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, The Cost of Long-term Homelessness in Central Florida, 2014