Community In-Service Day with the Homeless Empowerment Program

By Dana L. Santos

Forward Pinellas staff spent the day at the Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP) for Community In-Service Day. Forward Pinellas participates in a Community In-Service Day each year on President’s Day. Staff volunteer on projects throughout Pinellas County that benefit the communities we serve and align with our agency’s mission and goals.

Homeless Empowerment Program

HEP is a non-profit organization built to support homeless and low-income individuals and families. HEP’s mission is focused on providing essential services to help individuals attain self-sufficiency and improve their overall quality of life. Examples of services offered include dental and wellness service, clothing, meals, financial assistance, substance abuse treatment, transportation support, and more.

“Homelessness can happen to anyone. Any type of personal tragedy (illness, divorce, etc.) can lead to a series of events towards homelessness. It was HEP that offered me a place to stay as my illness progressed and my life began to fall apart.”

– Tawny Castle, Vice President of Clinical Services, HEP

Forward Pinellas staff harvested produce, weeded, watered and mulched in the Empowerment Garden. The garden consists of an inground organic garden, vertical garden, and Mobile Market. Produce from the gardens are used in the Kitchen and Dining Hall for HEP residents. The Empowerment Garden also supplies the HEP Mobile Market by providing fresh produce to low-income individuals in the community by bringing the market to them.

Transportation Disadvantaged

Access to transportation services is essential to many of HEP’s clients who are homeless and may also be disabled, elderly and/or need assistance getting to medical appointments. In 2023 alone, HEP provided 620 roundtrips and 1,715 one-way trips to its clients. Forward Pinellas works with HEP, in partnership with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), through our Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) Program. Through this program, PSTA provides shuttles to transport veterans to and from the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital.