Hot Topic – Homelessness in Florida and Manatee County: Changing Laws and Local Responses

What are the recent changes in the law regarding the homeless?
What are the plans and what is the progress of Manatee County government and local nonprofits?

Click Here to Register

It will be 2 years in March 2025 since the Florida Housing Coalition presented the Roadmap to Address Homelessness to Manatee’s Board of County Commissioners. A lot has happened since then.

The League of Women Voters of Manatee County is proud to host a Hot Topic panel discussion to help our community understand the new laws impacting people experiencing homelessness, as well as our local responses.

Our speakers are:

Bryan Cherry, partner at PinPoint Results LLC and lobbyist for the Florida Coalition to End Homelessness, who will give an overview of impact on both communities and individuals of Florida’s HB 1365 and the recent Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson. 

Taylor Neighbors, CEO of Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. Their mission is to prevent and end homelessness in Sarasota and Manatee through collaborative work with civic leaders, service providers, and concerned citizens by promoting community engagement, awareness, funding initiatives and a system of care that provides a path from homelessness to housing 

Amanda Ballard, Manatee County Commissioner and member of Manatee’s Homeless Task Force will talk about Manatee County’s response to the new laws affecting the homeless.