CONSOLIDATED PLAN & STRATEGY 5-YEAR ... - City of Lakeland

Central Florida, Board of County Commissions for Polk County, Victims of Crime Act,
individuals, businesses and community donors.
Tri-County Human Services provides adult outpatient services at locations in
Lakeland and other communities. Services provided include substance abuse
assessment, individual counseling, group counseling, family/couples couples, and
alcohol/drug education. Each clients work with a clinical specialist who develops an
individualized treatment plan which specifies the type, frequency and duration of
service most suited to the client’s needs. Tri- County also offers
assessments/evaluations for clients in mental health treatment; child care service;
parenting skills and vocational and educational services.
Noah’s Ark of Central Florida is committed to empowering individuals who have
developmental disabilities by advocating on their behalf and by providing or
facilitation meaningful employment, recreational and social opportunities and
affordable housing choices.
Noah’s Ark has developed an innovative program that will make affordable and
accessible rental homes available in safe neighborhoods. This initiative leverages
community resources by using volunteers to help build homes along with donations
and gifts in kind from the local business community to acquire the materials.
National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a non-profit agency which
members are consists of consumers, families and friends of persons with severe
mental illnesses. NAMI advocates for adequate health care, housing and jobs for the
mentally ill. NAMI pursues equal access to state of the art treatments and services as
is provided to other physical illnesses. NAMI provides and promotes public
education to eliminate the discrimination and the stigma of mental illness.
Sunrise Community of Lakeland assists people with disabilities with various
programs and has several group homes throughout Polk County. Sunrise provides
such services as respite care, adult day program, adult skills classes, and companion
services, in home training, transportation, and personal care assistance.
Persons with HIV/AIDS
Persons living with HIV/AIDS require several levels of service. In addition to
substance abuse and mental health services, clients are also in need of life skills
training, including employment and vocational training and managing activities of
daily living, such as living on a fixed income. Increasingly, supportive services are
also dealing with the complications of aging, as medical advances have increased the
life expectancy of those living with HIV/AIDS.
The City of Lakeland has elected to assign its allocation for HIV to the State of
Florida; due to Staff’s lack of expertise in this area. The State of Florida administers
the Polk and Hardee programs together; therefore the report data is combined. Polk
County is one of the regions that receive Ryan White Grant funding from the state.
In 2008-2009, the Polk County Health Department reported 214 clients served. This
is a 66% increase in need over 2 years. Anticipating that each year there is at least
a 33% increase, the clients to be served in 2009-2010 will be approximately 285.
3-5 Year Strategic Plan 64