Palm Beach County’s annual Mayor’s Ball returns to PGA National Resort & Spa on August 29, this year with a “Boots & Bourbon” theme, at a moment when the county’s homeless population has grown sharply and a new state law is pushing local governments to act fast. Tickets run $550 per person, and the evening will include a bourbon tasting, dynamic auction, curated dining, live music from country artist Jordan Oaks, and an interactive hat pyrography station, all built around a single goal: raising money to help move people off the street and into stable housing.
The gala is organized by the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, whose CEO Alexandria Ayala-Long discussed the event and the broader crisis facing the region, as reported by WPEC. The ball brings together philanthropic, business, civic, and community leaders from across the county, and this year’s “Boots & Bourbon” theme is meant to honor advocates, volunteers, donors, service providers, and neighbors who work on homelessness issues year-round. Proceeds are earmarked for coordinated care initiatives, housing stability programs, and supportive services aimed at long-term solutions for vulnerable residents.
A Growing Crisis Behind the Gala
The need behind the fundraiser has become more urgent. Palm Beach County’s January 2024 Point-in-Time census counted 2,126 individuals experiencing homelessness, a 14.6% jump from the 1,855 people counted the year before, according to the Palm Beach County Community Services Department. That federally mandated annual census tracks both sheltered and unsheltered residents over a 24-hour period, and the upward trend has only added weight to the coalition’s fundraising push.
Perhaps more striking is who is newly showing up in those counts. Data presented by the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County in March 2026, during the annual Sen. Philip D. Lewis Bruncheon in West Palm Beach, found that roughly 70 percent of people experiencing homelessness in the county are facing it for the first time. The figure suggests the crisis is being driven less by chronic homelessness than by newly displaced residents squeezed by rising housing costs.
A New State Law Raises the Stakes
Local governments are also operating under a tighter legal clock. Florida House Bill 1365, signed into law in March 2024 and effective that October, prohibits unauthorized public camping and sleeping on city or county property, and it allows residents, businesses, or the Florida Attorney General to sue non-compliant local governments starting in January 2025, per the Florida Senate. The law has placed legal pressure on municipalities to move unhoused populations off streets and sidewalks, whether by opening shelter beds or funding rapid rehousing…