HomeAid Tampa Bay

On June 1, 2006, HomeAid America announced the opening of the HomeAid Tampa Bay. Through the generosity of the Tampa Bay Builders Association and its members, the chapter will build housing for the community's temporarily homeless population, serving those individuals and families who want to get back on their feet after a life circumstance has rendered them without a home.

There are more than 20,000 homeless in the Tampa Bay area; 23% of which are children, 5% are veterans and 65% of those have a source of income (January 2011, Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County). Currently there are only 1,500 transitional/emergency beds in the area, therefore there are at least 8,000 homeless men, women or children who will not have shelter tonight.

In 2009, HomeAid Tampa Bay partnered with Metropolitan Ministries (pictured above) to build the Sanctuary of Tampa, a dignified housing solution for homeless families that have successfully completed the Metropolitan Ministries "Uplife U" self-sufficiency program. For 39 years, Metropolitan Ministries has served the Tampa Bay community to help prevent homelessness, ease hunger and offer life-changing answers that lead the homeless to self-sufficiency and transition them back into the community.

The construction of this 12-unit townhome community was led by Builder Captain, Mike Southward of Lennar Homes. This 18,052 square foot, $2.4M project was built with the support of $207,065 of in-kind donations of labor and materials from Lennar Homes and members of the Tampa Bay Builders Association. The project added 40 beds and a community center to the community, providing 14,600 bed nights to the transitionally homeless per year. This successful HomeAid model brings community resources to a project that would be difficult, if not impossible, for the service provider to obtain. Not only does the homeless agency acquire a first-class facility for its programs, it gains an asset that can be leveraged for future growth.

HomeAid Tampa Bay has also partnered with Metropolitan Ministries three other times to help improve the physical appearance of their various buildings, totally over $7,000 of in-kind donations.