Homeless Services Director Wayne Applebee to receive ‘2015 Public Citizen of the Year Award’ on March 9
SARASOTA COUNTY ¾The Sarasota/Manatee Unit of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) will present Sarasota County’s Director of Homeless Services Wayne Applebee with the ‘2015 Public Citizen of the Year Award’ during their Annual Social Work Month Celebration and Dinner Event on Monday, March 9 from 6-8 p.m. at Libby’s Café and Bar Restaurant (Private Room), 1917 S. Osprey Ave. in Sarasota.
The NASW ‘Public Citizen of the Year Award’ is presented annually to an individual who although not a social worker exemplifies the values and ethics of a social worker. NASW is the largest organization of professional social workers in the world with more than 150,000 members in 56 chapters nationwide. The Sarasota/Manatee Unit of NASW is one of 18 chapters in the state of Florida and has over 200 members.
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| Wayne Applebee
Director of Homeless Services |
Mr. Applebee has served as the Director of Homeless Services for Sarasota County since October 2013. He has been a key champion in advancing local policy and program initiatives to address homelessness. He has also served as the county’s spokesperson on the implementation of Dr. Robert Marbut’s 12 recommendations which included the establishment of two intake portals for families in crisis in north and south Sarasota County, and progress toward a unified ordinance to address homelessness across the county.
“We are fortunate to have Wayne’s exceptional leadership skills and dedication in bringing together key partners in our community and in facilitating a candid dialogue and positive changes in how we as a community work to address homelessness on a comprehensive basis,” says Sarasota County Health and Human Services Director Chuck Henry. “We know that there is still more work to do on this issue, and having Wayne as the point person from the county continues to prove invaluable.”
Prior to his appointment as Homeless Services Director, Wayne served as the county’s Human Services Policy Coordinator.
