Can Pensacola and Escambia County work together to reduce homelessness? They're going to have to.

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves hopes the visit from U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Advisor Joe Savage will create a "critical mass" among local officials and homeless care organizations to move the needle on homelessness in Pensacola.

"If we want critical mass around an idea of getting better alignment (between the county and the city), then these are the types of ways where you hear from the folks ultimately that have spent more time studying this around our country than anyone else and are the ones that directly have an impact and effect on your ability to get federal funding," Reeves said. "That's a pretty good authority to hear from, I believe, on that."

Savage gave a presentation on the federal government's strategic plan to address homelessness that the Biden Administration released in December called "All In," which serves as the government's road map to tackling the problem.

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Savage spoke Tuesday morning to a joint Pensacola City Council and Escambia County Commission meeting and Tuesday evening at a CivicCon event.

The plan seeks to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025.

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Savage said the plan would be integrated into federal agencies that fund homelessness services, like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"The closer your community's plan is aligned with this federal framework and priorities at the local level, the better you will score, the better you score, the more money that will come to your community," Savage said.

Reeves, who helped arrange Savage's visit to Pensacola, said Tuesday is the beginning of a new conversation to address homelessness as a region.

"I think we'll let the dust settle for a day or two after today and tomorrow and let everybody kind of glean their thoughts on what the next best steps are," Reeves said.

Reeves said whatever plan emerges doesn't have to be a carbon copy of the federal plan.

"If we all look each other in the eye in this community and say here are the one or two things that we can focus on, we agree on, and we know the federal priorities that will help us fund it, I think that's a great first step," Reeves said.

Escambia Commissioner Jeff Bergosh said homelessness is a complex problem, but he was glad to learn about the federal priorities to address it.

"I think it's a dynamic issue, but we need all the help we can get because the problem is growing in our area," Bergosh said.

Bergosh said he believes the county's focus with its American Rescue Plan Act funds to create a low-barrier, non-congregate shelter fits in with the federal priorities Savage outlined.

"I think we're lined up pretty well with what they presented," Bergosh said.

Pensacola City Councilwoman Allison Patton said the meeting Tuesday was a great first step to having the city and county work together on the issue.

"I think we need to make sure that we have a strategic plan for our community and that we are focused on the right system of care to provide solutions for the unsheltered," Patton said. "I think it will take the entire community to do this, and I hope that that message was heard by all today."

Pensacola City Councilwoman Teniadé Broughton said she hopes the city will take the information from Tuesday's presentation and craft a plan that follows the federal blueprint and caters to the community's specific needs.

"I'm looking forward to following that roadmap for this issue," Broughton said.

Escambia County Commission Mike Kohler said the No. 1 issue he gets calls about from voters in his district is about homelessness.

Kohler said he has some specific questions about what metrics are used to evaluate local community plans, especially on issues of equity and inclusion.

"Overall, I think the presentation was good," Kohler said. "I think they're (the federal government) trying to tackle homelessness," Kohler said. "Hopefully, Escambia County can get some funds so we can deal with this problem."

While partisan politics doesn't come into play at the city level, the Escambia County Commission is dominated by Republicans.

Kohler, a Republican, said although he and his party disagree with the Biden Administration on the levels of spending, the funds are coming to local governments and they have to act to address homelessness.

"Who knows who the next president's going to be or what's going to happen," Kohler said. "We probably will never see this kind of money come in again in our lifetime. We need to use it to tackle it (homelessness) and work collectively with Democrats. The money's there."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola, Escambia county leaders react to "All In" homeless plan