UNHOUSED — This photo was taken by Beacon photographer Marsha McLaughlin during DeLand’s 2023 Fall Festival of the Arts. The DeLand City Commission has since passed ordinances limiting sleeping on park benches and the amount of personal belongings someone can have in public spaces.
BY LEON ROLLE
In the heart of DeLand lies a beacon of hope for those facing homelessness and economic hardship. The Neighborhood Center, governed by a board of directors and led by CEO Savannah Griffin, along with Chief Operating Officer Waylan Niece, stands as a testament to community resilience and compassion.
In an exclusive interview, Waylan Niece sheds light on the organization’s journey, the challenges faced, and the stark realities of homelessness in the area.
Waylan, with 13 years of dedicated service, recounts the organization’s humble beginnings and its evolution into a multifaceted support system.
“What started as a shelter and a few transitional houses has now expanded into over 60 units scattered across the community, housing more than 200 individuals.”
The Neighborhood Center’s mission, as Waylan passionately describes it, encompasses feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and preventing homelessness through various programs and initiatives.
Waylan gives insight on homelessness prevention through food.
“A lot of people don’t necessarily see food as homeless prevention, but in a way it is. Because instead of going and spending that money on food at the grocery store.” He adds, “The cost of food is ridiculous right now.”
“Instead, they can use that money to put gas in their car so they can go to work. So, food is a way to prevent homelessness … and leverages their current income that they have coming in.”
One of the organization’s core programs focuses on preventing homelessness by providing financial assistance to individuals on the brink. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation, doubling the number of people seeking assistance and straining resources. Despite The Neighborhood Center’s best efforts, Waylan laments the insurmountable challenge of meeting the escalating demand with limited resources.
Waylan states, “Since COVID, we’ve doubled the amount of people coming through our doors seeking assistance.” He then adds, “Over the course of a month, we typically run out of the allocated resources, food, money, spaces, etc., about halfway through the month.”
Waylan also adds “prior to COVID, that was something we were having a hard time with for some months, how are we going to use and/or spend all of the resources. Now we need more, we need more, we don’t have enough.”
As we dive deeper into the economic factors of homelessness, it’s no surprise there are more folks headed toward poverty and seeking help. Waylan gives his view on the leading challenges of homelessness in the area.
“Specifically, here in the city of DeLand, we don’t have an affordable housing committee or board that enforces and monitors various ordinances, laws, and codes to apply to new home developments.”
He adds, “Instead, people can come in and basically build whatever they want, however they want, charge whatever they want. And due to this, everyone else around them sees the housing market in their area rising; they start to raise the price of their home.”
When asked about the demographic factors in homelessness, Waylan offers insights that challenge common perceptions.
“While the white population constitutes a significant portion of those served, the African American and Hispanic communities are proportionately underrepresented among the homeless population.”
However, when it comes to seeking prevention services, there is a more balanced representation across demographics, indicating systemic disparities at play.
“We’ve served 1,700 actual households just since Jan. 1…. Of that, about 900 white, 390 are African American, and 360 fall under … Hispanic.”
— This interview was conducted by Leon Rolle, a Stetson University student in Beacon editor Eli Witek’s journalism class.
