Pasco County Continuum of Care asks commissioners to sustain funding and partnerships for homelessness response

Marci Esberg, representing the Pasco County Continuum of Care, urged the Board of County Commissioners on April 21 to maintain and expand funding and interagency coordination to address homelessness.

"The COC exists to promote community‑wide commitment to making homelessness rare, brief, and non‑recurring," Esberg told the board, outlining programs the Continuum of Care coordinates—coordinated entry, housing navigation, case management, permanent supportive housing and shelter acquisition. She highlighted nonprofit partners including the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County and One Community Now and described services such as the Veterans Support Center.

Esberg thanked Pasco County for investments in outreach, data management and case management and urged the board to continue to "lead with evidence, compassion, and funding so that every Pasco neighbor has a safe place that they could call home." No budget motion or vote was taken at the time; Esberg’s remarks were received as part of public comment and staff and commissioners acknowledged the continuing role of county funding and partnerships in the county’s strategic goals.