While HEP West Apartments grants the brave men and women returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the comfort and privacy they need to recoup, the adjacent Veteran’s Clubhouse provides a place of camaraderie where vets from all generations can gather together for support. Up to 200 veterans have access to the Clubhouse on any given day at HEP. The Clubhouse also houses HEP Activity Coordinators, who organize group outings and volunteer opportunities for our Veteran population, so they can once again become active participants in the community at civilians.

HEP West consists of 32 single-occupancy apartments that were designed specifically for the brave men and women returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. HEP West now houses all U.S. Veterans, regardless of the era in which they served. Constructed in 2012, HEP West provides Veterans with the opportunity to heal in privacy, while allowing access to on-site activities coordinators and personal case managers to help guide the way to self-sufficiency. Many of these occupants are also attending local colleges and trade schools, earning HEP West a reputation as HEP’s “dorm”!

(Housing Type: Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH). Capacity: 32 male and female Veterans.)

Home to 40 brave men from various branches of military, the Fairburn Apartment Complex consists of four group-homes providing food, shelter and supportive services for 10 men in each. The dormitory style apartments include a common area with a living room and full kitchen, surrounded by six bedrooms (4 double-occupancy and 2 single-occupancy), each with its own bathroom.

(Housing Type: Transitional – up to 2 years of support. Capacity: 40 male veterans.)

HEP is home to as many as 100 infants and children on any given day. The Children’s Learning Center is an important part of our program, offering before and after school care, as well as an education-based summer camp. We work closely with the students attending the Learning Center, helping to ensure that this at-risk group of students has the tools and guidance necessary for scholastic success.

HEP’s North Greenwood Adult Education and Workforce Development Center provides workforce development services to the men, women and Veterans residing at HEP, and in the surrounding North Greenwood community. The collaborative effort between the Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP) and the Pinellas County School Board (PCSB), with community investment funding through United Way Suncoast, conducts community outreach, career counseling, ABE/GED courses, self-enrichment courses, job training, resume writing, interviewing skills​, job placement and certification opportunities connecting individuals to vital resources for educational growth and workforce development. The center provides both one-on-one mentorship to participants, as well as facilitates classroom style workshops to enhance essential skills necessary to re-enter the workforce. Despite kicking off their programming in the midst of a global pandemic, the center has continued to successfully provide job training and continuing education to HEP resident​s and the surrounding North Greenwood community, with 82% of program graduates securing employment over the past year.

For information on services offered, please contact Workforce Development Manager Alison Naughton at 727-758-9565.

Baty Villas consists of 16 private apartments for qualified families with children. The apartments offer Permanent Supportive Housing and are conveniently located adjacent to the HEP Children’s Learning Center, making it easy for working parents to drop off and pick up their children before and after work.

(Housing Type: Permanent Supportive – Capacity: 16 Families).

A certified “Green” building, HEP’s Service Center is made from recycled materials, and has 125 solar panels on its roof to provide energy for the residents and staff who occupy this building five days each week. The Service Center, also called the “copper building” due to its bright orange exterior, is the hub of our 8-acre campus where all the magic happens! Here, HEP residents receive 1-on-1 case management, on-site medical care, family counseling and more. The Service Center also houses our administrative team, and includes meeting space with panoramic views of the HEP neighborhood.

The HEP Dental and Wellness Clinic has been “transforming smiles and lives” for over 20 years. Founded by William “Doc” Johnston, Clinic provides comprehensive dental services, Stanford’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), nutritional counseling, wellness education, and navigation services.  The Clinic operates 5 days per week, and is run by over 25 volunteer dentists and hygienists! We also partner with local dental schools, where students can exchange volunteer hours for credit hours (how’s that for something to smile about?). Not only does proper dental care improve the overall health of this vulnerable population, it also helps build confidence and provides an increased opportunity to secure reliable employment!

Did you know that families with children are the fastest growing homeless population in the country? HEP offers many solutions to this growing epidemic – one of which is our Family Emergency Shelter. Consisting of 8 family apartments, this shelter offers a temporary solution to homelessness. During a stay in this shelter, Case Managers work closely with the family to help them to secure housing, consistent work, enroll children in school and more. While the general length of stay in this shelter is 120 days, it is often extended to accommodate parents who are meeting progressive goals toward independence. If additional, or more intensive support services are required, a family may be move into Permanent Supportive Housing as it becomes available on our campus.

(Housing Type: Emergency – up to 120 days of support, Capacity: 8 families).

The church that started it all! HEP originally began as an outreach of the non-denominational church, Everybody’s Tabernacle (aka E.T.), when Otis C. “Preacher” Green learned of a congregation member who got injured on the job, and became homeless with his young family in tow. Ever the generous spirit, Preacher offered the family a home he owned, where he allowed them to live rent-free until they were able to become self-sufficient. Soon, word spread through the community that if you needed help, you could head over to E.T. and ask for Preacher. The Church is still on site (though it has gone under some construction updates), and though no longer tied to HEP – remains available for residents who wish to attend services.

HEP’s commercial-grade kitchen and dining hall serves 3 meals each day, 365 days each year, to the tune of more than 117,000 meals for our residents! Breakfast is hot, and lunches and dinner consist of a fresh salad bar, a filling starch, vegetables, a protein and the occasional dessert (the homemade chocolate chip cookies have a cult following of residents and staff!). The dining hall also provides an array of exciting and hands-on volunteer opportunities.

Nicknamed “the horseshoe” by staff (due to the shelters shape), this shelter was converted from what was once a string of connected garage units! Today, the horseshoe provides safe shelter for 110 men and women in dormitory style housing. Often serving the chronically homeless population, guests in this shelter receive intensive 1-on-1 case management and support services designed to identify and solve the problems that lead individuals to homelessness in the first place. If individuals in this program are eligible, and are actively working toward goals, they may be moved into other housing including transitional and permanent supportive options.

(Housing Type: Emergency – up to 90 days of support. Capacity: 110 men and women, including veterans).

A 13,000 sq. ft. treasure trove, the HEP Thrift Store operates on the generosity of donors who contribute gently used clothing, furniture, antiques and more. The Thrift Store is not only open to the public, but serves a dual purpose for HEP residents, who are provided with vouchers from their Case Managers to trade for needed items. Even more impressive, 100% of the proceeds from items sold through the Thrift Store benefit HEP programs, to the tune of about $400,000 per year.

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The HEP Community Garden offers our residents the opportunity to participate in a gentle form of natural therapy. Residents are free to come and go as they please, and play a role in tending to herbs, fruits and vegetables grown conveniently on campus. The food harvested from our garden is used in the salad bar of our dining hall, or handed out to families who are encouraged to prepare meals at home with their children.

Independence Square Apartments provides Permanent Supportive Housing for chronically homeless individuals. On site services address the underlying causes of homelessness and empower chronically homeless individuals to remain stably housed, increase their skills and income and gain more control over the decisions that affect their lives.

(Housing Type: Permanent Supportive – Capacity: 24 men and women).