SARASOTA, Fla. April 13, 2016 – Last fall Harvest House was awarded a $50,000 grant from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation. Over the next week, that $50,000 grant will be put to use as local, family owned and run, Florida Fence works to install over 2,000 feet of white, vinyl picket fence at the Family Village.
The Family Village property is located on the 2700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Greater Newtown and will serve our regions families and unaccompanied youth who are homeless and participating in Harvest House’s Home Again program. The Home Again program provides up to 24 months of supportive housing with case management and life skills classes to further prepare families for meaningful employment and housing stability. The home is stabilized for children to promote school attendance and academic growth.
Last year, in partnership with the Lee Wetherington Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Harvest House was able to purchase 18 units in the Greater Newtown area out of foreclosure. The Family Village will be opening this summer with 66 beds for the regions families and unaccompanied youth who are homeless and while significantly increasing Sarasota’s affordable housing stock. Several units will be earmarked for veterans with families.
The leadership at Harvest House is committed to ensuring that the organization’s mission to champion hope and transform lives by revitalizing neighborhoods and providing service-enriched housing programs will continue to serve this area’s most chronically homeless population.
Harvest House is one of this region’s largest providers of supportive housing. For nearly 25 years they have been providing permanent supportive, transitional, low-income rental homes and emergency shelter for families, and affordable, residential drug and alcohol treatment for individuals in Sarasota. All Harvest House clients are assigned a case manager to assist them throughout their journey to an independent, sustainable lifestyle. Educational courses, including life and employability skills, parenting development, anger management, mental health groups, addiction education, and many more are easily accessible to each program participant.
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