Florida Catholic | Shelter For Homeless To Stay Open

Shelter for homeless to stay open

Pinellas Hope will be kept open through Sept. 30 on a modified basis.

JAMIE PILARCZYK | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 04.25.08

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ST. PETERSBURG | A temporary shelter and assistance center for homeless people here that was scheduled to close at the end of the month will remain open, albeit on a smaller scale, through the summer, officials announced in mid–April.

With $200,000 in help from private donors from St. Petersburg and surrounding community, Pinellas Hope will be kept open through Sept. 30 on a modified basis, said Frank Murphy, president of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, which operates the program on behalf of a coalition of sponsors.

Staff will be reduced to accommodate about 75 residents at a time instead of the 250 accommodated these past five months. Since Pinellas Hope, 5726 N. 126th Ave., opened in December, more than 450 homeless people have found temporary shelter in tents, a safe place to keep their belongings, hot showers and laundry services. They have also been offered help toward more permanent solutions to their situations, the causes of which range from poor choices to bad timing. They have been offered social services, job training, access to substance abuse programs and housing assistance.

Catholic Charities runs Pinellas Hope on more than 10 acres of land donated by the Diocese of St. Petersburg. The effort is a partnership with Pinellas County, Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless and others.

Murphy estimates it will cost about $50,000 a month to keep Pinellas Hope open and said while he is grateful to continue the efforts this summer, he will continue to pursue city and county funding for a more permanent solution.

An independent study is being compiled to evaluate the project’s effectiveness with results available in July, Murphy said.

“Our gut feeling is that we feel pretty good about our efforts,” Murphy said.

Return to Diocese of St. Petersburg Front Page

Shelter for homeless to stay open

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