JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local advocate for the homeless in Jacksonville is taking a direct approach to address the growing homelessness crisis on the First Coast.

After voicing his concerns at a town hall budget meeting with Mayor Donna Deegan, John Wyche is now proposing a new solution to connect those in need with available resources.

Wyche is partnering with local hotels to provide temporary shelter and essential services for people without a home.

Dionne Riley is a 59-year-old woman who never thought she would be homeless. After living in her apartment for eight years, she says a dispute with management led to her eviction.

“It was a long battle, because she was constantly making racial slurs and I wasn’t gonna take it,” she said. “I fought through the courts and it’s just been devastating because I’ve never been homeless.”

She now sleeps in her car. Each day is a struggle to find safe places to sleep and maintain basic hygiene.

“It’s scary, especially at night,” Riley added.

It’s a fear for many on the First Coast, and it’s why Wyche is stepping in to help. The initiative offers a warm bed and meals as well as access to mental health support, job training and affordable housing resources.

“I was talking to some hotel owners that own a multiple number of hotels in different cities, and they were saying ‘how can we help?'” Wyche said.

His goal is to utilize the available capacity in these hotels to meet the immediate needs of the homeless population.

While the city has already invested $1.3 million to address homelessness, Wyche is advocating for more funding and long-term solutions.

“This is a crisis and it’s not gonna get any better,” Wyche told First Coast News. “So stop putting band-aids on a wound.”

Hotel owners involved in the initiative are also hoping for increased investment from city leaders to combat homelessness.

For more on housing, you can email johnwyche04@gmail.com.