In May 2020, we started as a street outreach team providing meals and supplies to people on the street and in camps. In 2021, we worked with the Salvation Army of Pasco County to reopen the Center of Hope in Port Richey, Florida. We couldn’t serve people inside due to building conditions. However, we repurposed the allotted space of a parking lot and part of the warehouse to:

• run Pack a Sack function for Kiwanis benefitting Mitty P. Locke Elementary,

• weekend food pantry helping Giving Hope when they lost their location,

• lunch program, provide clothing and toiletries,

• host free events with local churches,

• haircuts,

• and offered financial help to people needing utility or rental assistance to stay housed.

During that time, we hosted an interest session with the Salvation Army of Pasco County and local nonprofit organizations to “make pieces fit”, the start of the Service Center model bringing services into the Center of Hope to restore its prior use as a community service center. Although the vision for the Center of Hope ended with the property’s sale, we found a new location in Hudson to pilot our Service Center model.

In March 2022, we opened our homeless day shelter in Hudson, The Lighthouse, as a pilot demonstrating the effectiveness of our Service Center model to deliver critical services to distressed areas through repurposing and reimaging properties. In coordination with our partners, we repurposed less than 2000 sq. ft. of office space into a center offering a food pantry, intake center, medical screenings, showers, laundry services, warehouse, group classes, and more. We provided a space and infrastructure for our partners to bring their services, expanding their reach and impact without paying for more locations. When we opened, we had 4-6 people daily. It quickly grew to a daily attendance record of 62 people with averages in the 50s.

Through our partnerships with local churches, community, other nonprofits, and government leaders, we brought more resources such as showers and light medical screenings. We worked with the 6th District Court to restore the Mobile Shower unit and later connected the Court with First Baptist Church of Hudson to keep the function going. We had an all-volunteer staff running every function. With the day shelter pilot, we started to see progress with people getting into housing and jobs, as well as recovery and lifesaving, transitional care support. However, recovery and keeping a job is hard without housing.

The location was sold to a Canadian company relocating their headquarters to the US. We closed our center on November 30, 2023. Since then, we restructured our organization and began developing our housing program. We are seeking support for our rental assistance programs and our first affordable housing community, Sparrow Farms.

Be A Light Mission Service Center Inc

Be a Landlord. Be a Resource. Be an Advocate. Be a Light.