After spending the last 2 weeks at conferences, my head is just spinning with so much information. I wanted to write a few articles about all I had learned and didn’t know where to start. Then my boss asked 1 simple question, “What was your biggest takeaway?” Simple question, but it helped me boil it down. The biggest takeaway was that there needs to be a coordinated system in place. The cool thing is in our area, we get to work on the big picture systems.
What was an even bigger takeaway at that moment was how fortunate I am to be able to work on this in the Central Florida community with my colleagues and with so many top leaders and others. We can end homelessness (make it rare, brief, and one time) but it will take the proverbial village.
Change is hard and the methodology used nationally to reduce homelessness is foreign to us in CFL, but we have many of the key components in place. I am excited for the future.
So as I think of all the takeaways, I know I will be putting my thoughts down and the thoughts and best practices of others in order to share what I have learned so we can continue building the systems.
Swimming Upstream 
Sandi, yes there are a lot of individual organizations doing their own thing. I agree with you that a coordinated system could be put in place with providers to expedite building for homeless and low income folks. On a positive note-since Andrae Bailey has come on board public awareness has begun-with awareness comes change. All is in Devine order.
Ellen
Ellen Parcell
President & CEO
“Heart 2 Heart Homes”
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