ABOUT US

OUR MISSION
To provide our community with affordable access to housing, health care, and opportunities for economic growth.

OUR VISION
A thriving community where everyone has access to housing, healthcare, and hope.

Agency History

Sulzbacher opened its doors in December of 1995 as the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the homeless in response to the explosion of crisis homelessness that happened in the nineties both in Jacksonville and nationwide. The agency was founded by three groups, the City of Jacksonville, a group of area businesses, and the United Way of Northeast Florida. Unlike other homeless shelters, Sulzbacher was founded on the premise that homeless persons need and deserve more than just a meal and a bed to end their homelessness. Sulzbacher provides a continuum of care approach, addressing all aspects of homelessness including housing, income and health care. Over the more than two decades since the agency opened, the services have grown to include street outreach, primary health, behavioral health and dental care for all ages, permanent housing, job placement and early learning.

Mr. I. M. Sulzbacher 1913-2001

Sulzbacher takes its name and inspiration from a man who exhibited extraordinary civic leadership and concern for the poor, I.M. Sulzbacher. Mr. Sulzbacher was a successful insurance broker and civic leader who entered politics during the Jacksonville Consolidation era and was elected to the Jacksonville City Council in 1968. Out of his concern for people experiencing homelessness, he helped raise awareness of the problem and convinced his fellow council members of the need for the city to help. With the support of city administrator Lex Hester, the dedication of a homeless facility on city land was included in the 1993 River City Renaissance plan. The I. M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless opened in 1995. Mr. Sulzbacher died on June 5, 2001, and his spirit of giving and his dedication to the poor lives on at Sulzbacher.

Agency History

• 1994

  • Incorporated as a 501(c) (3)
  • Began providing primary health and dental services at area churches

• 1995

  • Opened main campus as a men’s shelter

• 1996

  • Expanded dormitories to include women and families with children
  • Brought primary health care on site

• 1999

  • Began providing behavioral health services under Dr. Richard Christensen

• 2000

  • Began HOPE (Homeless Outreach Project Expansion) mobile outreach
  • Installed bunk beds in the men’s pavilion dormitory
  • Installed air conditioning in the men’s pavilion dormitory

• 2001

  • Became a Federally-Qualified Health Center
  • Expanded dining room, more than doubling dining space
  • Initiated Homeward Bound Permanent Supportive Housing Program

• 2003

  • Initiated Scattered Emergency Apartments for Chronically Homeless HIV+ Men Permanent Supportive Housing program

• 2005

  • Built Children’s Program Building on main campus

• 2006

  • Opened new Hugh H. Jones, Jr. Medical/Dental Building, brought dental on-site
  • Initiated Homeward Bound Project Expansion Permanent Supportive Housing Program

• 2007

  • Expanded HOPE to second team in Jacksonville Beach

• 2008

  • Opened satellite medical / dental / behavioral health clinic in Jacksonville Beach

• 2009

  • Built out Behavioral Health Suite in the Hugh H. Jones, Jr. Medical/Dental Building

• 2013

  • Built out 2nd floor and completed Veteran’s Dormitory
  • Built out Medical Respite Unit
  • Began providing SSVF Mobile Outreach to Veterans

• 2014

  • Initiated Chronically Homeless Offender Program (CHOP) Permanent Supportive Housing
  • Expanded SSVF Veteran’s Outreach to Clay and Nassau Counties
  • Received HIV Specialty clinic funding

• 2016

  • Contracted to manage Community Health Outreach dental clinic for impoverished persons in at-risk neighborhood

• 2017

  • Expanded health services from Health Care for the Homeless to add Community-Based
  • Broke ground on Sulzbacher Village for Women and Families

• 2018

  • Opened pilot School Based Health Clinics in at-risk High School and Middle School in partnership with Florida Blue and Baptist Health.
  • Opened Sulzbacher Village for Women and Families.

Board of Directors and their affiliations

• Chair – Barney Smith, President, Smith & Young Co.
• Vice Chair – Whitney Meyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Community Impact Officer – Jacksonville Jaguars
• Treasurer – Brenton Farwell, Corporate Audit Senior, Audit Director, Global Technology & Operations – Bank of America
• Secretary – Chris Thanner, JD, Partner Attorney, McGuire Woods
• Immediate Past Chair – Aundra Wallace, President, JAXUSA Partnership
• Vickie Behan, Managing Director, Head of Fraud Operations
• Kerin Da Cruz, SVP, Chief Nursing Officer, UF Health
• Dr. Gerri Ferris, DMD, Periodontist, Retired
• Nat Ford, CEO, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
• Susan Gentry-Dearing, Community Volunteer
• Bill Gulliford, Community Volunteer
• Paola Parra Harris, JD, Parra Harris Law, Attorney & Founder
• Dr. Patricia Solo Josephson, Pediatrician, Nemours Children’s Health
• Nathan Marty, CEO, Auld & White Constructors
• Kate McCann, SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer
• Doug Orange, Community Volunteer
• Pat Phelps, Community Volunteer
• Dr. Mario Pulido, Chief Medical Officer, Ascension – St. Vincents
• The Hon. R. Anthony Salem, Circuit Judge, 4th Judicial Circuit
• Dr. Brian Shapiro, Mayo Clinic

Leadership Team

Cindy Funkhouser, MSW

Chief Executive Officer

Brenda March

Chief Financial Officer

Brian Snow

President, Housing Division

Leah Lynch

President, HOPE Division

Kathy Orr

Human Resources Director

 

Dr. Colleen Bell

President, Health Division

Andy Barber

Vice President, Program Funding

Dawn Sullivan

Vice President, Finance

Annual Reports

Please feel free to click any of the links below to view our annual reports.