Using SHIP and a Great Deal of Other Financial and Human Resources to Meet the Needs of Homeless Women and Children.

Priority is given to homeless women over 18 years of age with children and with life-controlling problems such as poverty, illiteracy, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, victimization, and lacking the skills or adequate employment to support themselves and their children.

The M.I.S.S. housing project provides a home from six months to two years to these homeless women and their children.

M.I.S.S. clients contribute a minimum of 4.5 hours each month to assist M.I.S.S. The women generally do this through office work at Hope Park, such as answering phones, filing, computer/data entry, preparing food pantries, supply shop­ping, scheduling of activities, and by participating in community meetings and outreach. This provides them with job expe­rience, while defraying project operation costs for M.I.S.S. Through a generous contribution from U.S. Cellular, residents have access to free voice mailboxes. This enables them to receive messages on job opportunities without disclosing that they reside in transitional housing. M.I.S.S. residents get assistance in establishing their permanent households with funds to buy furniture and pay security deposits whenever available. For example, the Florida State Attorney General provided a Transitional Fund in 2001 for graduating participants of M.I.S.S. to use for furniture and whatever deposits were needed to secure permanent housing.

Butterfly Gardens is now up and running in 2011. This facility will temporarily house 105 homeless and will provide five permanent apartments for indigent disabled. Again, this facility for the homeless will take a substantial public-private effort, including local SHIP funds.

Butterfly Gardens will have on-site childcare, a food and hygiene pantry,training facilities, nutritional education, permanent housing placement and ongoing mentoring and support. It will also have a Doctor's office.

To address the nutritional needs of homeless children and their parents, M.I.S.S will offer the ANNE (Adults Need Nutritional Education) program. In the commercial kitchen which is part of the Butterfly Gardens housing complex, called Elisabeth's Kitchen, M.I.S.S will provide training by a licensed nutritionist who will develop a nutritional curriculum that targets the special needs of the homeless population. Programming will consist of six two-hour classes in which all M.I.S.S residents will participate. Emphasis will be placed on basic nutrition, food safety, shopping for nutritional meals on a budget (food stamps, WIC), healthy snacks and nutrition and safety during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS & AWARDS

• 2006 - SOROPTISMIST INTERNATIONASL / MAKING A DIFFERENCE AWARD
  
• 2006 - SOROPTISMIST SOUTHERN REGION –MAKING A DIFFERENCE AWARD
• 2005 - CHRISTIAN EDUCATION /CHURCH OF GOD/ COMMUNITY.SER AWARD
• 2004 - DWIGHT ALLISON UNSUNG HERO AWARD/ COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF PALM BEACH AND MARTIN COUNTIES.
  
• 2004 - VOLVO 100 COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
  
• 2003 - N.A.A.C.P / COMMUNITY SERVICES
  
• 2003 - HOBE SOUND COMMUNITY CHEST / AWARD OF DISTINCTION

• 2003 - MARTIN COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE/ COMMUNITY SER. AWARD
  
• 2003 - NATIONAL SOCIAL WORK ASSOCIATION / CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
  

AFFILIATIONS

• PAST BOARD MEMBER – TREASURE COAST HOMELESS SERVICES COUNCIL
  
• BOARD MEMBER - FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION
  
• MEMBER - FLORIDA COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS