Pensacola's lead homelessness agency takes 1st steps toward leadership reform. Here's why

Opening Doors of Northwest Florida is taking the first steps to create a new governance board to align the organization with the federal government's strategic plan to reduce homelessness by 25% by 2025.

The nonprofit, which serves as the Pensacola area's official Continuum of Care (CoC) organization to coordinate with the federal government on addressing homelessness, has brought in a consultant at the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Earlier this year, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Adviser Joe Savage came to Pensacola and recommended that Opening Doors split its nonprofit service from its role in administering federal money as the official CoC. Savage advised that organizations who align themselves with the federal strategic plan and its priorities will likely have an easier path to securing federal funding.

Amanda Rosado, a nonprofit consultant and chief operating officer of the Florida Housing Coalition, was brought in by Opening Doors to advise a new leadership committee on setting up a new governance structure for the nonprofit.

Opening Doors has set up an ad-hoc committee made of community members, homelessness advocates, local officials and Opening Doors staff to evaluate a new governance structure for the organization. The members of leadership committee have not been publicly confirmed.

Rosado told the committee Opening Doors is not out of compliance with HUD guidelines but from her experience working in different communities, it works best if a nonprofit board such as Opening Doors is separate from the governance of the CoC board.

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"Having that separate governing body is key to ensure there is larger, diverse representation," Rosado said. "It also really is just focused on carrying out the mission and the vision of the CoC."

Her comments echo largely what Savage told a group of community leaders in May.

Rosado said organizing a CoC is about bringing in all members of the community who serve the homeless and having them represented on the CoC's leadership council.

Rosado said as part of that, it is a good idea for the CoC to create committees that address specific issues and pointed to the Northwest Florida Homeless Reduction Taskforce as an example.

"You have the Taskforce, and you have the different subcommittees of the Taskforce," Rosado said. "That would be a very similar structure to CoC where you have these different committees; they would just be more formally under the CoC."

In August, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves and Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno sent Opening Doors a letter urging the selection of 13 individuals to be included on the leadership committee.

Opening Doors Executive Director John Johnson responded to the letter, saying he felt the city and county were "bullying" Opening Doors.

In the end, Johnson included three of the people named by Reeves and Moreno on the at least 16-member committee.

Members of the committee will meet again later this month and share ideas on how to structure the new board.

Rosado said it will not just be the voices on the committee giving input into how the CoC will be structured.

"There will be opportunities for everyone in the community to provide input," Rosado said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Homelessness: Opening Doors takes first steps to reform