PINELLAS HOPE CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF HELPING THE HOMELESS

Bishop Gregory Parkes invites the community to the 10th-anniversary celebration of Pinellas Hope on Friday, Dec. 1 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm.

The shelter camp for up to 300 Pinellas County homeless adults opened on December 1, 2007 on 10 acres of land provided by Bishop Robert N. Lynch (now retired) and the Diocese of St. Petersburg. It was initially developed as a pilot program in response to extreme homelessness in the city of St. Petersburg and throughout Pinellas County and was expected to be open only five months. Pinellas Hope is operated by Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg and it was expanded in 2010 with the support of local and state governments to include permanent buildings used to provide assistance (e.g., education, counseling, basic medical and dental care) to its homeless residents and apartments. In 2016, Hope Cottages™, re-purposed 20-foot shipping containers, was introduced to replace tents.

WHEN:
Friday, December 1, 2017 at 4 pm (To RSVP, please visit http://conta.cc/2yHsPYb)

WHERE:
Pinellas Hope, 5726 126th Ave. N., Clearwater

WHAT:
A celebration of Pinellas Hope’s 10th Anniversary (We will provide camp tours, including the new Hope Cottages™ and new Veterans’ efficiency apartments after the presentation.)

WHO:
The following will provide comments on the impact of Pinellas Hope in our community:

Bishop Gregory L. Parkes
Frank Murphy, Secretary of Administration for the Diocese of St. Petersburg
Rick Baker, former Mayor of St. Petersburg
Mark Dufva, Executive Director, Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg
Original Pinellas Hope resident will share her uplifting testimony

About Catholic Charities

Since 1945, Catholic Charities has provided social services aimed at supporting and preserving families and promoting self-sufficiency and social justice. As an accredited agency, Catholic Charities is a non-profit leader in serving the poor and vulnerable within Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Under the auspices of the Diocese of St. Petersburg (www.dosp.org), it operates three broad umbrella Ministries of Mercy: Foundations of Life, Shelters of Hope, and Friends in Need. Over 15,100 individuals were served last year with assistance including but not limited to: food (over 200,000 meals) and clothing, emergency shelter, affordable housing for the elderly, low income, farmworker families, and those suffering from HIV/AIDS and other disabilities, respite care and medical screening, immigration, citizenship and refugee services, pregnancy and adoption services, and disaster relief. Learn more about the many services provided at www.ccdosp.org/