Emergency Services Homeless Coalition has scheduled a meeting for tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon from 3 - 4pm in the Goodwill building, 4527 Lenox Avenue, to start the planning process for a drop-in center for the homeless. This meeting is open to the public, and any input would be appreciated.
If you cannot make the meeting and wish to post ideas here, those ideas will be passed along as well.
The meeting was well attended. Lots of non-profits, JEDC, the city, and even MetroJacksonville.
A couple of points: there are cities which have successful drop-in centers. A couple were mentioned, Dallas and Fort Worth and Boston.Saint Francis House (Boston)
QuoteFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Saint Francis House is a nonprofit, nonsectarian, ecumenical daytime shelter, primarily for the homeless, located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, and founded in the early 1980s. It is the largest daytime shelter in New England and serves as an early model of such a center.
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Its mission, has been stated early on as:
“ We believe in the dignity of every human being and offer respect to all who enter the house. Our mission is to care for those who cannot take care of themselves, and to assist those who are capable of becoming self-reliant and fully functioning members of society. â€
â€"St. Francis House Mission Statement, as recapitulated in 1998.[1]
It serves and helps poor and homeless people in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi who was dedicated to helping the neglected.
[edit] History
Saint Francis House was formally founded by the Justice and Peace Committee from the Saint Anthony Shrine[2] on Arch Street in downtown Boston in 1984, but its origins date back to 1981, when the Franciscans at Saint Anthony's had opened a soup kitchen for the homeless.
As the need for services increased, Boston community and religious leaders called out for the establishment of a center where existing and additional services could be offered to the poor, the homeless, and the otherwise disenfranchised. It was the visionary, Father Louis Canino, O.F.M., a Franciscan friar and then Rector of the Saint Anthony Shrine, who was the driving force in its founding and the necessary purchase of a building on Boylston Street.[3][4] Ira Greiff, a veteran social worker and former Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, was also instrumental in setting up Saint Francis House with Father Canino, using the model of a settlement house (possibly and additionally combining community center or clubhouse models) for the day center shelter.[5] He also shared a vision for "rehabilitative services and a permanent multiservice center for the homeless and that homeless shelters and programs should and could collaborate, and participate in joint public policy and budget advocacy".[6]
Its early historical responses to help the homeless focused primarily on emergency services such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.
However, the problem of homelessness, in general, turned out to be more complex and could not be solved by emergency measures only, so its scope and services broadened.
Over the years of its operation, St. Francis House has dealt with barriers that impede people in overcoming poverty and homelessness, by offering an upward framework of opportunity. This includes teaching the skills needed to obtain jobs, housing, further education or, at the very least, how to have lives independent of shelters and institutions.
In 2001, Millennium Partners and Ritz-Carlton who built the Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Towers just around the corner from Saint Francis House, funded the construction of a large atrium in Saint Francis House so that the homeless would not have to stand in lines in the street waiting to get in.[7][8] Saint Francis House had originally approached the developers to build the atrium out of an unused outdoor parking lot, so that homeless guests would not have to wait on the street in long lines.
In May 2009, a guest was stabbed critically by another guest. The Executive Director of Saint Francis House, Karen LaFrazia, said that this was a very rare occurrence and that in her tenure of more than a decade, she had never seen anything like this and that the environment is safe and a haven for many hundreds of people every day. The people involved in the incident were not regular guests of Saint Francis House.[9]
In October 2009, Fr. Louis Canino, the founder of Saint Francis House in 1984, visited on its 25th anniversary reflecting on how much had changed in those 25 years.
QuoteOperation
St. Francis House is open seven days a week, 365 days a year and it provides its guests with the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, showers, telephones, mail, medical care, and emergency assistance. There are also rehabilitative programs (employment, housing, mental health, substance abuse counseling and lifeskills training) to help those who are able to move themselves out of poverty and homelessness, to achieve lives of independence, self-respect, and hope.
There is also some transitional and permanent housing in the building for the formerly homeless, living in recovery, and employed.
It also has a very active expressive art room, the Margaret Stewart Lindsay Art Center[10], where homeless artists create and are given a chance to express themselves, and many of the works are displayed and sold. Saori style Japanese weaving is especially therapeutic and useful for many of the artists.[11][12] Every year, guest artwork is featured in the Art from the Heart Calendar.
In 2004, the Carolyn Connors Women’s Center was opened, recognising the special vulnerability of the smaller population of women who are homeless.
Being a daytime shelter model, it is a critical part of caring for the poor and homeless, since most nighttime shelters for sleeping typically put their guests out during the day, early in the morning after wake-up call. Rather than being left to the streets, which can be harsh, the day center provides a place to go and be cared for and also be part of a community, typically much more wide-ranging in services and scope than the nighttime emergency shelter scheme.
The in-house medical clinic is run by Boston Health Care for the Homeless.
Of course, its location is a major concern to everyone and much talk centered around that.
One side feels that any more social services downtown will only make the problem worse. The other side is saying that this is where the problem is and this is where the solution lies.
All points seem to be valid, but as Metrojacksonville (Stephendare) pointed out, JTA needs to be involved in this discussion. With JTA's cooperation, siting of the center could be more flexible.
Some are concerned about duplication of services. Dawn Gilman, ED of the Emergency Services Homeless Coalition, pointed out that there are approximately 800 emergency shelter beds and 3000 homeless. Obviously, the city has a long way to go before duplication of services is a problem.
(Not that the center will have any beds -- from what I have heard, it won't).
There were a few churches involved. Not many. I hope more become involved. What a time to make a difference in the world, and we have this right here and right now.
Trinity Mission's program seems an effective model. It's not enough just to give homeless a bed and food, as that can be easily abused. The point is to get them into a routine of good living habits and then quickly get them OUT of the city into a more rural area for a while.
So the city needs something where you complete a program for 30 or 60 days, then they ship you out to a rural farm away from it all to get things straightened out.
rjp: it is a complicated issue, isn't it? Trinity has helped so many people put their lives back together. It is definitely an example of a working program. And the city has a myriad of programs like this, and it needs all of them and more.
However,
first step...the homeless need to get off of the streets, for their sakes, for the city, for the business people downtown, ASAP.
second step...enrollment in programs like Trinity, Clara White, River Region and the others.
IMHO
A St. Francis house model would work too. All the major cities seem to have at least one religious order (Catholic) working with the poor. What a powerful witness that would be in the city to see a group of sisters or brothers dedicated to helping the homeless and addicts get back on track.
Hello strangers.
Ok, I had to chime in since my new home, Ft. Worth, was mentioned. As someone who loves downtown Ft. Worth (btw, it is NOT Dallas in any way shape or form so the two should not be considered interchangeable), I have to say WHY the drop-in (day) shelter has worked and why you can actually walk around downtown without being acosted by rude and entitled homeless folk.
If you look at the map (shown below), you will see where the shelters are (marked by 'A'). The mental facility, rehab centers, night shelter, day shelter, and food bank, are all in one area surrounded by interstates and the railroad track. This area is mostly industrial with very few residences in the direct vicinity, but more importantly, look at its relation to downtown. Downtown, Sundance Square, and the courthouse, are all the way up in the left upper-hand corner of the map (Belknap St., Bass Performance Hall area).
In order for a panhandling homeless person to travel from the shelter to downtown, they would have quite a hard trek. Not only because of the distance they would have to walk, but because of the lack of sidewalks or other pedestrian-friendly options. Frankly put, the homeless that choose to be homeless and are looking for free hand-outs, would have to actually put forth some kind of effort to get anything and they just aren't going to do it. Am I saying that downtown Ft. Worth is completely free of homeless? Absolutely not, but they are hard to identify being that they do not lie around on the sidewalks or beg for money. In fact, they actually try and do something to EARN money. I saw a couple playing guitar a couple weekends ago to earn cash. They sounded really good and added a bit more interest to the nightlife IMO.
I've been here for almost 2 years now and the number of homeless I've encountered downtown Ft. Worth I could count on 1 hand. So, if Jacksonville wants to take a queue from Ft. Worth on this one, they should completely segregate their homeless shelters from the urban core and make it as difficult as possible for the homeless to get into downtown. If that doesn't sound like a viable solution, then maybe they should take a queue from Portland and bus all the homeless to Seattle, lol.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=1415+lancaster+ave+fort+worth+tx&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=1415+lancaster+ave+fort+worth+tx&cid=0,0,12991948277187033147&ei=ZKN-S8nlJsSMnQeg3Y1f&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQnwIwAA (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=1415+lancaster+ave+fort+worth+tx&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=1415+lancaster+ave+fort+worth+tx&cid=0,0,12991948277187033147&ei=ZKN-S8nlJsSMnQeg3Y1f&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQnwIwAA)
"they should completely segregate their homeless shelters from the urban core and make it as difficult as possible for the homeless to get into downtown."
- bingo.
however, there's no way that's going to happen anytime soon. 1 or 2 facilities may be moved, but there will not be a mass exodus in the near future. What's important is to PLAN for what's next. Have a vision in mind. So, move 1 or 2 soon, build a day center, move 1 or 2 after that, 1 or 2 after that, all in the same area, and there you have it.
fsu: any site ideas for the day center?
I've got one. How about Talleyrand? That is primarily industrial, underpopulated, has a railroad and river barrier. Although, one could walk under the interstate to get into downtown, they would have to cross through and around the stadium area and would have quite a long haul into downtown...you know, since Jax never made any connection between the stadium and downtown through mass transit. In the event they ever do (roflmao), the transit connection area could easily become a haven for the homeless, however the COJ would have the area so well policed (lol, again) and so many ordinances in place (again, roflmao) to prevent loitering and panhandling, that it wouldn't be an issue for long. Ok...now my tummy just hurts.
I seriously doubt that it is politically possible to move homeless services to any other area. Grouping existing services and new ones together on the Northbank (where I live BTW) is probably the best we can hope for.
In Sarasota it's the "Resurrection House," and in Bradenton it's the "Our Daily Bread." However both close at 3:00 PM; I disagree with that; they should open them at the crack of dawn and close them at around 6 or 7 in order to have meals and other needs ready for those that need them. Many lack adequate funding/funds and I know this is one of the reasons why they are open for very few hours. The one in Sarasota is immensely successful and popular despite the hours, and the one in Bradenton only serves two meals a day with even shorter hours. We hope to open something similar soon but on a larger scale.
"HU"
Tallyrand makes pefect sense. But there other areas too....(McDuff, 103rd, Beaver Street, among others.)
I don't think it's going to matter that some other place is "perfect". NIMBY will keep homeless services in the core.
Quote from: urbanlibertarian on February 19, 2010, 05:52:26 PM
I don't think it's going to matter that some other place is "perfect". NIMBY will keep homeless services in the core.
If this is true, will a drop-in center help the downtown homeless problem or increase it?
Having someplace other than the main library to get inside out of the heat/cold/rain and use the bathroom, clean up, use a phone, etc would be a huge improvement.
The Cadillac of Drop-in Centers
Quote
New $21 Million Homeless Center Opens In Dallas
DALLAS (AP) ―
When Dallas' new homeless center opens on Tuesday, it will focus on the homeless who can be the most difficult to help -- those who are very ill and have been on the streets for some time.
The $21 million taxpayer-funded facility called The Bridge is designed to provide mental health and addiction treatment and place people in homes as quickly as possible. But difficulties in achieving those goals include the Dallas area lacking housing options and Texas ranking 48th in the nation in funding mental health and substance abuse treatment.
"The expectations of the homeless center should be high, but they should be realistic," said Mike Faenza, president and chief executive officer of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, which will run the city-owned center. "The Bridge, as powerful and wonderful as it is, it's no panacea."
The center will be using new approaches to help homeless people. In one place -- a campuslike environment with a landscaped courtyard -- they will be offered everything from shelter and food to haircuts and housing assistance.
Unlike most area shelters, The Bridge will not require users to pay a fee or go into treatment. It will also stay open during the day, when most shelters close and many homeless people end up roaming the streets.
Officials say that the homeless will be treated as guests, with the idea being to build people's trust so eventually they will accept help.
Faenza said that the focus on the chronically homeless makes the center unique.
"The more ill you are, the less services you have, the more experiences you have being rejected from other services, the more we want you there," he said.
While The Bridge's solution to homelessness -- placing people in homes -- sounds simple, Dallas only has about 852 units of housing for homeless people who need mental health care or other social services, called permanent supportive housing. Officials say the area needs 1,000 to 1,200 more of these homes.
"The Bridge is only good if there's someplace to go" next, said Mike Rawlings, who serves as Dallas' homeless czar. "We need at least 1,000 new units of housing out there. We've got to find quick ways to do that."
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance is working on a plan to open more permanent supportive housing over the next several years. That plan is to go before the City Council this summer.
Once chronically homeless people move into housing, many will still need intensive mental health care, addiction treatment or both. And those services are severely lacking.
Texas ranks near the bottom nationally in government spending on mental health services for the poor, including the homeless, according to the advocacy group Mental Health America.
The state hospitals remain full and do not provide long enough stays for many people to get stabilized, said Janie Metzinger, public policy director for Mental Health America of Greater Dallas. There's also a lack of prevention services.
Patients who need substance abuse treatment are limited to about two weeks of residential treatment, said Doug Denton, executive director of Homeward Bound, which will offer detoxification and substance abuse treatment to people at The Bridge.
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Dallas.Homeless.Center.2.727214.html
Nice article sheclown.............and your right about the aspect of the "Cadillac" comparison..............right now I would take a Volkswagen setup since something needs to be done!
I agree Foltz.
It is interesting to see what other locations are doing to solve this problem.
Greensboro starts small
QuoteHomeless day center opens
Thursday, January 8, 2009
GREENSBORO â€" Volunteers painted the walls and screwed in the new light bulbs, and will soon have the showers flowing.
The city's new day center for homeless residents is now open for business.
Volunteers, with about $30,000 in local grant money, have transformed unused classroom space at Bessemer United Methodist Church of 3015 E. Bessemer Ave. into an "interactive resource center" where homeless people or anyone in need of help can spend the daytime hours, clean up, and connect with social services.
The center will act as a pilot program for a permanent program that is under development by local aid groups and volunteers and could be open by the end of the year.
Organizers plan to keep the resource center open through March 15, to coincide with the winter emergency shelter initiative that has placed dozens of people is temporary housing for the cold months.
"It's cold and windy and nasty outside, and we needed something," said Liz Seymour, who helped put the center together.
The center will officially start offering programs like support groups and GED classes on Monday. There will be an open house for the general public Wednesday between 4 and 6 p.m.
Volunteers, including homeless residents, have been helping get the space into shape for the last two weeks.
"They feel like they're family," said Brantly Grier, one of the managers of the center. "I'm proud to be part of something like this."
The classrooms had not been used for 16 years, said Pastor Nick Scandale, who has seen the project reinvigorate his church.
"For me, this is a holy spirit thing. We made ourselves available," Scandale said. "People came out of the woodwork to volunteer. People say, 'What do you need?'"
One room will be outfitted with computers and used for skills classes. A small space at the end of the hall will act as an office for a congregational nurse, a housing specialist and other support people.
On Thursday, crews were scheduled to turn one room into a shower room with lockers and clothes washing machines.
The wash room will provide an important service to homeless residents, said Michele Marsh, who is living at the emergency shelter at Grace Church.
"Showers and the laundry facilities â€" that seems to be the hardest thing," said Marsh, a former phone operator who is looking for a job in catering or customer service. "You just have to make the best with what you have some days."
So far, 10 to 15 people have been coming every day.
Grier said they could serve up to 50 people daily, but will need volunteers to help run programs, welcome guests and make meals.
"If they come and volunteer they will see there is a sense of community," said Paul Gydos, a volunteer who is living at the temporary shelter at the Hive. "Hopefully this project will be a model that can be replicated."
Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/01/08/article/homeless_day_center_opens
QuoteHomeless day center celebrates its first year
Friday, January 22, 2010
By Jennifer Fernandez
Staff Writer
*
GREENSBORO â€" Planners thought it would take a year to start a day center for the homeless.
Instead, the community came together and about two months after proposing a day center, the Interactive Resource Center opened at Bessemer United Methodist Church in January 2009.
In the year it has been open, the center has helped more than 1,100 people, officials said. Among them, 98 received help finding a job, said Skip MacMillan , chairman of the nonprofit’s board.
Those successes will be among the achievements celebrated today at a luncheon for supporters, volunteers and center participants.
“You know, we started with nothing,†MacMillan said. “Look where we’ve come from.â€
The day center provides more than just shelter during the day for the homeless. It offers a place to shower and do laundry, somewhere to meet and discuss concerns and a jumping-off point for improving job skills and finding a job.
Much of the center’s success its first year is because of the many volunteers, said director Liz Seymour.
One volunteer is Craig Byrd, 35, a former client who started offering free haircuts as a way to give back to the center.
“It took me outside of myself, what I was going through,†said Byrd, who has been homeless for eight months and is now working at a church. “You’d be amazed what a haircut could do for someone.â€
On Thursday, a haircut gave Dale Murray a little more pep to get through the day. He has been looking for work, struggling to pay his bills while on unemployment, Murray said. The center offered him a place to do laundry, pick up some food and get a free haircut.
“I just thank God for this place here,†he said.
In December, volunteers gave more than 1,500 hours of their time, Seymour said. About two-thirds of that time was given by current or former clients.
Next up for the day center â€" moving to a new home.
The center has raised more than $525,000 â€" including significant commitments from the city and county â€" to renovate a donated office and warehouse on East Washington Street into a permanent site.
The work will start once the permits are approved, a process that has begun, MacMillan said.
“Our plans are to be in here no later than early September, but hopefully, July,†he said.
The nonprofit has raised enough money to start renovations, but it will need money to furnish the new site and to pay operating costs. “We’re gonna have to count on the community,†MacMillan said.
He said he’s confident the response will be positive, based on what has been achieved in the past year during a deep recession.
The fundraising has already started, with the center reaching out to large donors and sponsors, MacMillan said.
The next phase likely will start this spring with grass-roots fundraising, such as bake sales and car washes, Seymour said.
“The reason we’re necessary is times are tough,†she said. “It has also meant we’re very good at leveraging everything we get.â€
Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com
http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/01/21/article/homeless_day_center_celebrates_its_first_year
sheclown there appear to be many Cities which are taking upon themselves to address this probem. I seem to remember a "Bussiness Committee" forming up to promote downtown and having a say in what takes place, this was something in the TU and made a half hearted note. City is talking about the issue because Johnny is trying leave a legacy, right, but no funding nor much discussion other than lip service which is lots of help!
This is an interesting concept -- a small church-run day center for families.
Quote
Day Center to offer shelter, assistance to homeless families
By Teresa Taylor Williams | Muskegon Chroni...
October 29, 2009, 2:46AM
MUSKEGON â€" Homelessness is difficult on individuals, but it’s often devastating for families whose members are separated because facilities are not large enough to house them.
Now, after years of planning and fundraising, help is on the horizon.
Family Promise of Muskegon is opening the doors to its Day Center, 1635 Kregel, Saturday. The building will serve as a resource center, offering laundry and shower facilities and computers to find jobs. The center also offers transportation for adults going to job interviews and children attending schools.
RELATED CONTENT
What: Open house for Family Promise of Muskegon, a nonprofit organization offering shelter and resources to homeless families.
When: Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Where: The Day Center, 1635 Kregel.
Needed: Miscellaneous household supplies are still needed.
More information: To donate or for more information about Family Promise, call (231) 578-3872.
For those families seeking a warm, safe place to lay their heads, the doors of host churches are ready and waiting.
Family Promise of Muskegon is a nonprofit organization that runs the Interfaith Hospitality Network, where about eight host churches furnish clean, safe, overnight lodging and meals to homeless families from Muskegon and North Ottawa counties.
The purpose of the organization is to assist families with resources from employment to transportation to meals, so they can transition out on their own, she said.
“The unique thing about this is we cater to families, and no other facility in Muskegon does that,†Keener said.
To date, about $42,000 has been raised, and the organization will continue to raise funds to sustain the work.
The board of trustees also recently hired Destinee Keener as executive director.
Getting to the point of finally opening to the public has been a long logistical process, according to the Rev. Bill Uetricht, pastor of First Lutheran Church.
Churches were sought for the rotation to host families one week at a time. Vans are being borrowed for transportation. And volunteers still are being recruited.
“It feels very good. It’s extremely exciting that soon we’re opening up our program, but it’s also a little frightening†in terms of financing the effort, as donations continue to be sought, Uetricht said.
The Day Center property is made possible through the Church of God United, which donated the three-bedroom former parsonage. Carpet, flooring and plumbing work were donated, and volunteers have worked busily to prepare for the grand opening.
“Many community businesses came together to make the house work for us,†Keener said. “It looks like we might be full on our first day, as we already have 16 people, or four families all together.â€
Participating churches are: Central United Methodist; Christ Community; Fellowship Reformed; First Evangelical Lutheran; Lake Harbor United Methodist; Lakeside United Methodist; Montague United Methodist; Mt. Zion COGIC; Temple United Methodist; and United Methodist Church of the Dunes.
Keener said the effort still is in need of host churches, volunteer drivers and volunteer workers at the Day Center.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/10/day_center_to_offer_shelter_as.html
(http://justjp.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bathroom_attendant.jpg)
From Homelessness to Entrepreneur in one easy step, Colombian Style.
Such a center to be truly useful must know that daily childcare is available 24/7m. Likewise educational training oj s with certificate or perhaps to allow one the chance to better themselves and learn a skill. A doctor program where they could visit the doctor and or dentist. A regular visiting Mental health professional's and a REAL doctor that actually learns your name. Perhaps a job exchange where one man helps the next in working through. The COJ should be totally committed to this new and bold concept in dealing with an age old problem.
Out of the box thinking works in Colombia, and it could work here, I've often cited the hemming Plaza Restrooms and the fact that we buried them, while larger and poorer city south of the border polished theirs which now includes night time care of these folks that do a pretty good job at keeping the streets safe for all. Medellin didn't build a "day center" rather it built a day center program... In this program, grants are issued for the care and feeding of homeless families or individuals. Huge tax benefits come with helping this community. Moreover many are in uniform! The COM provides mini-career positions at flower pots and plantings, public restrooms, garages, transit. How well does it work? Well if Medellin's government was running the office on Duval Street, those restrooms (under the fountain) would still have a public access. To use the restroom, one would descend the steps, and pause in front of a small ticket window. One would pay .50 cents to the uniformed attendant, who would then point out a freshly cleaned stall. Your attendant might show you a small collection of nice cologne, hair gel, combs, nail tools, he or she is free to sell a limited line of products (rule of thumb, if it fits on a serving tray, it's game to be sold). Done with your business, as you exit past the window again, you'll notice the "product sale" banner, and you leave a dollar in the tip jar thinking what a pleasure, I can't recall a cleaner or safer underground bathroom anywhere! Time to head for the train station on the Southside, as you approach the Skyway, a uniformed "conductor" offers to carry your bag... That's okay,
OCKLAWAHA
It will take all the creative thinking we can find to solve this problem.
Thanks for the thoughts, Ock.
scary videos
Stock up on Food, Gold, Propane, and lots of Ammo. It's coming! Not very different from what Celente has to say:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=43c_1267070684 (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=43c_1267070684)
If it didn't happen in the 1930's (and there was talk and agitation then too) it ain't gonna happen now.
Quote from: stephendare on February 24, 2010, 11:57:25 AM
http://www.youtube.com/v/ssZ-GmGK5g4
There are quite a few of those out in Jax Beach. Or at least there were when I lived there 2 years ago. There used to be one by the JTB/3rd Street interchange and one in the woods by the Publix on Atlantic in Atlantic Beach. My friend who lives off South Beach Parkway also says there is a small one in the woods behind his place.