Cindy Funkhouser, CEO, Sulzbacher Center
Cindy Funkhouser, CEO of the Sulzbacher Center, provided Invest: with a comprehensive overview of how it is a transformative force for positive change in Jacksonville. She described the various programs in place at Sulzbacher to construct and sustain safety nets for the vulnerable populations of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida’s communities.
What has been the impact of the Sulzbacher Center’s work on the community over the last 12 months?
We are considered the largest homeless provider in Northeast Florida, and we are about to launch a new campus. Sulzbacher works in three areas – healthcare, education and training, and affordable housing. In the last year, we have been investing time into our new campus. It will span 17 acres on the northwest quadrant of Jacksonville, and we are building 100 units of affordable housing there, as well as a huge health center partnered with Mayo Clinic. Mayo has invested $5 million with us and is developing a learning campus at this new Jacksonville site.
We will be using tax credits to build the new affordable housing complex. The plans are finalized and are being reviewed by underwriting, and we hope to break ground in the first quarter of 2025.
Phase 2 will involve moving our corporate headquarters to the new campus, which will include all our clinics like primary care, dental and substance abuse treatment. Phase 3 involves a for-profit manufacturing plant that will build affordable housing modules. Our people will then be able to enter employment at the local factory to earn a living wage with benefits and a career path.
Homelessness is on the rise, and we have a nationwide affordable housing crisis. We want to be part of the solution to the problem by building affordable housing on our campus. Sulzbacher spearheaded a new social enterprise called Inside the Box which is a lunch catering program with a culinary job training program. This is a revenue generator for Sulzbacher that is fed back into our programs.
In which of your programs are you seeing increased demand?
All of our programs are in demand. We have no shortage of customers, and that is not a good thing. We are one of two federal clinics in Jacksonville. Sulzbacher is the safety net of all safety nets, and we cannot ever turn anyone away for any reason. Probably 60% of everything we do is healthcare-related, with dental services being most in demand. In the past year we became a licensed substance use provider in response to the opioid epidemic. We received a grant from the city of Jacksonville to provide opioid treatment, so we can now perform medication assisted treatment. Building affordable housing remains integral to our mission. In furtherance of this goal we have partnered with an organization called Vestcor, which is the largest local affordable housing developer.
What are the main factors that drive homelessness in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, and how might homelessness potentially be avoided?
We have a lack of affordable housing. Many people wanted to relocate to Jacksonville during COVID, so investors and outsiders have been buying up investment properties and rental units, which has led to skyrocketing rent prices in Jacksonville. This has exacerbated the affordable housing crisis here. Units that were affordable before the pandemic are no longer within reach. The community’s income is not high enough to afford rent. In our job training programs, we are trying to fill the community’s toolbox so they can obtain a job with a living wage and a career path. We have a fractured healthcare system in our country, especially in regard to mental health and substance use treatment. Income, affordable housing and healthcare are the main issues that need to be tackled.
How do you keep track of the long-term effectiveness of your program?
We have to track a large amount of data as we receive federal money. Sulzbacher tracks people for 12 months post-program, and we have a case manager to follow up on outcomes in terms of health and employment. Tracking retention rates are key to our continued operations.
How do you partner with government, county and private entities to promote and carry out their various programs successfully?
We are around a $20 million agency, and while we receive both private and public funding, the federal government is our largest investor. Hud is our second largest investor, and they fund many of our programs such as those for vouchers and permanent supportive housing. We are required to report to them on a quarterly basis, and they hold us accountable. The VA is our third largest funder, and we host many veteran programs. The city of Jacksonville collaborates with the sheriff’s office, the court system, and Sulzbacher on an endeavor called the Mental Health Offender Program. Jails have become de facto mental health institutes in America, and this program seeks to alleviate this crisis.
What are Sulzbacher Center’s priorities and goals for the next two to three years?
In two to three years, we would like to have our downtown campus fully moved into our new campus, have the new set of 100 affordable housing units up and operational, have all the new health clinics opened via our partnerships, have our job clinics up and running and then be able to work intently on the manufacturing plant. The goal is to be able to help more people to offer more housing, create more jobs to offer living wages and career paths, and offer more services, especially around mental health and substance use. This is how homelessness is solved – housing, healthcare, and hope.
