What is Pinellas Hope?
Pinellas Hope is a temporary winter shelter that provides homeless men and women privacy and a safe place to leave their belongings during the day or while they are at work. The residents may sleep undisturbed, take a shower, and have a comforting evening meal. Pinellas Hope was opened in December 2007. The shelter is a work of Catholic Charities in partnership with the inter-faith community, local government, businesses and other not-for-profit entities in the Pinellas County area. Pinellas Hope was established on ten plus acres provided by Bishop Robert Lynch and the Diocese of St. Petersburg and was started as a pilot project for 5 months (December 2007 to April 2008) and was been extended through September 2008 to operate on a reduced basis. With the winter of 2008-2009, Pinellas Hope has continued its expanded operations. Want to learn more? Visit the Pinellas Hope web site.
Pinellas Hope has operated for over a year now. What has been its experience and successes?
In October 2008 Pinellas Hope was evaluated under the sponsorship of the Pinellas County Department of Health and Human Services with the participation of the University of South Florida (USF) School of Social Work and Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. The findings from the Executive Summary of the report said “Pinellas Hope proved to be a viable, cost-effective option for providing emergency shelter to the street homeless in Pinellas County.” Pinellas Hope is not a perfect solution, but it is one of the few attempts to assist the most needy of our homeless brothers and sisters.
You can read the full report here: Pinellas Hope: Reducing Street Homelessness
Read about Bishop Lynch’s experience of Pinellas Hope.
Bishop Lynch’s Blog – “For His Friends” on Pinellas Hope.
Read About Pinellas Hope in the local and Florida News
What is the Diocese doing for Hillsborough County? read more
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