JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After a controversial Florida law banned people from sleeping and camping on the streets, the Homeward Bound program was put forward as a potential lifeline.
It offers a chance for homeless people to leave Jacksonville and reunite with their loved ones for free. But is the program leading to real change, or just a change of address?
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On a frigid Tuesday morning, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office bike unit patrolled the streets of downtown.
A part of their daily routine involves interacting with people who are homeless or in transition. Officers point them to resources and for those not from the area, officers offer a way home.
Action News Jax Anchor Tenikka Hughes went out with the JSO Bike Unit. Officer Senterfitt agreed to get mic’d up and wear a GoPro as he made his rounds.
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He encountered multiple people on the street who were homeless. In one instance, he engaged with someone sleeping on a bench. In the exchange, Senterfitt learned the person was not from Jacksonville and informed them about the Homeward Bound Program.
Senterfitt explained, “If you have family within the United States that’s willing to take you, we will give you a free bus ticket to go up there to them. Is that something that interests you?”
“Very much so,” the person responded.
The Homeward Bound program relocates people living on the streets of Jacksonville to their hometowns or where they have a support system, free of charge.
It’s paid for by JSO through money seized from criminal investigations, at no cost to taxpayers. The program has been around for years but was pushed into the spotlight after Florida’s ban on public sleeping and camping went into effect in October 2024.
JSO District One Commander Jimmy Ricks said that while enforcing the law, officers raise awareness about the program and other resources.
“This program and this law has allowed us to nudge people into services and it’s helping them,” Ricks said.
The nonprofit Downtown Vision administers the program in partnership with the Sheriff’s Office. CEO Jake Gordon said after participants clear JSO’s background check, they help them get a Florida ID, handle travel arrangements, and confirm there will be someone meeting them at their destination.
“We don’t just wanna send people out and they don’t have a safe place to land,” Gordon said.
Gordon said more than 800 people have taken advantage of the program since October 2024, traveling to 49 states. One of them is 53-year-old Christopher Hicks.
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By phone, he told Anchor Tenikka Hughes that he came to Jacksonville in November for a warehouse job that fell through, ended up in a shelter, and used the program to get to Atlanta in January.
Hicks said he was now staying with a friend in Atlanta and looking for work there. When asked if he felt more stable having someone there with him versus being alone in Jacksonville, Hicks said yes.
Hughes asked Gordon, “What about critics who say you’re only moving people, you’re not fixing the actual problem?”
Gordon said, “This is a voluntary program, so they want or need help and then, you know, there are a lot of other programs that we need to make sure they’re getting the support that they need, but generally this program helps people just get home and they’re very happy when they’re home,” Gordon said.
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Commander Ricks said the program has led to noticeable changes downtown too.
“It doesn’t solve homelessness,” Ricks said. “But downtown is much safer. Last year alone, we were at 18% at the end of the year, and most of the year we were 20% down in violent crime and property crime.”
Ricks also said, “They’re not having the same type of crimes happen because there’s not the encampments that are in public view. There’s not people getting approached as much, because there’s not as many homeless downtown.”
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As for Hicks, when asked if he was glad he took advantage of the program and happy he was able to get to Atlanta, he simply said: “Yes.”
Since the public sleeping and camping ban went into effect in October 2024 through the end of January of this year, JSO gave out 1,642 warnings and made 592 arrests.
In that same time, 802 people used the Homeward Bound program. Action News Jax asked but was told there’s really no way to keep track of how many people may be coming into Jacksonville through similar programs in other cities.
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