 Resource Center - to meet with a Resource Coordinator, please call 407.366.3422 or email
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HOPE works in conjunction with the following agencies
A Center for Women and Life for Kids
Bithlo/Christmas Neighborhood Center For Families
Covenant House
The Dorcus Group- teen outreach
Florida Health Dept.
American Red Cross
Berteau Eliassaint- missions to Haiti
Jewels For The Future Foundation- missions in guatamala
Homeless Wheels
Mark’s Ark, Inc.
Charlee House
Seminole Safe House
Pavilion of Hope
Beta House
Seminole County Schools
Sadie Holmes Help Service Inc
Children's Home Society
Partners of HOPE
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
Mel's Bad Girl's Doing Good
Seminole County Bright Futures Scholar Program.
Who We Help
April of 2007, HOPE took over operations of the Sonshine Community Thrift Store. This store enables us to meet the needs of the community in many ways. Those who can afford to shop anywhere, come to our store to find amazing bargains and in the process support our ministry. If we have a family who is homeless and living in their car or woods, we can provide them with everything to make their situation bearable, and then once we are able to help them attain housing, we can provide them with everything they need for their home including clothing, household appliances, furniture, bedding, etc. We have partnered with many organizations in the community including Charlee House, Seminole Safe House, Beta House, many pregnancy crisis centers, etc.
Emergency Food Pantry- In June of 2007, we opened the Sonshine Community Food Pantry, which now serves over 500 families per month. We serve non-perishables, fresh bread, produce & meat to clients 3 days a week all at no charge. We would like to expand our pantry to provide hot meals and also a summer lunch program for children. Sonshine Community Food Pantry is an official partner of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
 Outreach/Awareness Events- in line with HOPE’s vision, we have been involved in several large events to promote and educate the community on the issues of homelessness & poverty. Our next scheduled outreach event is OneNow 2008 which will be happening on May 17th at Lake Eola. This is going to be a regional awareness/volunteer initiative event with non-profits representing global and local efforts, amazing speakers & entertainment. Check out onenowevent.com to learn more!
Resource Center- We are in the process of setting up our “official” resource center. Of course we have been helping families and individuals since starting HOPE, but we are now looking for a location to put the center. This facility would enable us to initially meet their physical needs such as showers, hot meals, laundry facilities, etc. We would then meet with them to find out how we can assist them. We are working with Access Florida & the Veterans Administration to offer numerous services and our also partnering with UCF’s Social Services Program to provide intern to do case management.
Educational programs- We plan to initiate a tradesman or apprenticeship type training program here in Seminole county. This program will include plumbing, electrician, carpentry, and other skilled labor jobs. This will enable our clients to go out and attain good paying jobs and move them out of the cycle of poverty and/or homelessness. To establish these programs we plan to work with local businesses, other organizations & retired volunteers to come in to give training courses on their specific areas of expertise. We are also in communication with the University of Central Florida, Seminole Community College & Valencia Community College and plan to utilize their graduate students to provide the man power needed to successfully implement and run these programs.
Family Housing - There is a desperate need for shelter, transitional housing and affordable housing in Seminole County. At the present time, there are no family facilities for the homeless anywhere in our county. But because this is where they work & live, our families will choose to live in the woods or in their car rather than go to downtown Orlando to get into a shelter. Our plans are to purchase an existing building and make it into a transitional housing facility. We would like to give families that are experiencing homelessness a place to go where they can stay intact as a family and have the time necessary to get back on their feet. We also plan to partner with local builders and the county to spearhead an effort to build affordable housing for low income & extremely low income families.
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