- February 28, 2025
Bill Partington and the Volusia County League of Cities hope to fast track their idea for a countywide homeless shelter.
BY EMILY BLACKWOOD | STAFF WRITER
This could prove to be a good year for the less fortunate of Volusia County. Bill Partington and the Volusia County League of Cities are pushing for a proposal to create a homeless center to serve the whole county.
Though the project is still in its early stages, Partington said he hopes to make it something like the Pinellas Safe Harbor in Clearwater.
“A shelter modeled after Pinellas would be a big step in the right direction,” said Partington, who currently holds the titles of deputy mayor, city commissioner and vice president of Volusia County League of Cities. “It would be a huge cost saving to consolidate all the services the homeless need under one roof.”
As far as the location, Partington said if they followed the Safe Harbor model, the homeless shelter would most likely be located next to the county jail.
“I think it makes the most sense to have it somewhere out there,” Partington said. “It’s centrally located both to the west side of the county and the east side.”
Mary Swiderski, executive director of Volusia Council of Governments and the Volusia County League of Cities, said though she isn’t 100% sure the proposal will happen, the county does need to look into possible solutions for the homeless issue.
“We are still in the discussion stages,” Swiderski said. “Volusia County of Governments itself is not going to be the entity that puts it together; we are simply the entity that brings all the players together.”
By players she means the county, the cities, law enforcement and social services groups. Partington said the project could be completed in a year if all the communities can come together and agree to participate in some way.
“People who are homeless don’t really recognize municipal boundaries,” Partington said. “It would be easier to say, ‘Oh that’s a Daytona Beach problem,’ or ‘That’s a Port Orange problem,’ but really, it’s everybody’s problem in Volusia County. So it’s important that we share in the responsibly to find a better solution.”
