Manatee County adds homeless outreach officer

Deputy Joy Jewett says some homeless people could be eligible for disability and other services.

By Brendan Lavell
| 9:50 a.m. January 27, 2021

Manatee County deputy Joy Jewett and Centerstone peer specialist Sara Holloway walk through a homeless camp Dec. 14 in Bradenton. Centerstone is a nonprofit that treats people with mental health or substance abuse issues.

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Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said his deputies long have worked to provide assistance to homeless people.

However, those deputies haven't had enough time to handle many problems due to their other responsibilities.

But Manatee County now has a deputy devoted solely to supporting the county’s homeless population — Joy Jewett.

Manatee County deputy Joy Jewett walks through a homeless camp Dec. 14 in Bradenton. Jewett gives her phone number to anyone who will accept it, encouraging them to call her day or night.

Jewett drives throughout the county familiarizing herself with the needs of the homeless and educating them about resources that could help them, such as substance abuse and mental health services. According to the Sheriff's Office, many homeless people resist getting help. Jewett said her job isn’t to force them to seek help, but rather to consistently point them in the right direction if they so choose.

She also gives them a number where they can reach her at any time. She wants to make sure they know they can rely on her.

“Eventually, they're going to hit that moment where it's going to be their breaking point, and they're going to want that help,” Jewett said. “And I want to be there for them. It's not going to be Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, when they're going to say, ‘OK, I've had enough.’ It might be in the middle of the night when it's cold and raining, and their friends have left them, whatever, and they need that help then.”

The majority of the county’s homeless population is centered within the Bradenton city limits, many of them living in large camps together. But there are homeless people in eastern parts of the county as well. Jewett said some older homeless people have moved to the east to get away from the inner city and aforementioned camps, according to Jewett.

She said some might be eligible for disability services.

“Technology changes so much,” Jewett said. “And when you've been an alcoholic on the streets for 20 years, you need somebody to walk you through every little thing.”

Jewett said she can already tell the county does not have the shelters and facilities it needs to care for the homeless population. By talking to as many homeless people as she can, she hopes to build an accurate picture of what they need, which will allow the county to figure out what it needs to add or change as it moves forward.