Jacksonville leaders considering funding for 30+ new shelter beds for women at Sulzbacher Center

Executives at Sulzbacher say the funding would allow them to add emergency shelter beds at their downtown location

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville City Council is considering a funding request that would allow the Sulzbacher Center to add 34 emergency shelter beds for women at its downtown campus, addressing what shelter leaders describe as a growing need.

The proposal would provide $413,900 to convert existing office and cubicle space at Sulzbacher’s Adams Street location into emergency shelter space for women. The additional beds wouldn’t take away from any other space or services the center already has. 

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Sulzbacher leaders say the need for additional beds has become increasingly urgent as homelessness continues to rise in Jacksonville.

“We stay at a full capacity in both of our shelters here (downtown campus) and our Women and Families campus,” said Brian Snow, Sulzbacher’s director of housing.

According to the most recent Point-In-Time count, which tracks annual homeless rates, the number of unsheltered people in Baker, Duval, Clay and Nassau counties increased from 290 to 379 between 2025 and 2026.

Snow said the increase among women experiencing homelessness has been particularly alarming.

“I’ve been here over 20 years, and this was almost unheard of,” said Snow. “2 years ago when we did the point in time count we saw that it’s closer to now, like a 60%, 40% split, which means about 40% of the unsheltered population now are females, which is a very scary thing.”

Snow said the request for additional women’s beds was prompted in part by concerns raised by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue personnel who encounter women living on the streets without available shelter options.

“They’re pleading for more female beds. They’re encountering women on the street and just have nowhere for them to go,” Snow said.

If approved, the funding would create 34 new beds at the downtown facility, which currently does not house women overnight. 

“There was always a need for more male beds because that’s demographically what we would see in the homeless population,” said Snow. “Obviously that’s changed a lot over the last few years for not only single women but families as well, and so I think now as a community, we’re trying to kind of catch up to that.” 

Snow said providing safe indoor shelter is critical because women experiencing homelessness often face heightened risks while living on the streets.

“We know that 100% of them are gonna be victimized in some form or fashion, and so it is kind of imperative to us, at you know, at fire rescue’s request for us to help kind of meet that need and to get some of these women off the streets so they’re in a safe space,” Snow said.

The legislation remains pending before the Jacksonville City Council. If approved, Snow says it should only take 60 days to move the existing office furniture out and move the new beds in.