After losing funding for its homeless family shelter that served domestic violence survivors, Hope Villages of America (HVA) has successfully transformed the facility into much-needed affordable housing.

Pinellas County-based nonprofit HVA announced its plans to convert Grace House, a shelter for homeless women and children in Clearwater, into housing for many of the same residents in July. The Juvenile Welfare Board decided to terminate its funding for the facility in Dec. 2020 due to “significant concerns regarding service delivery.” However, the organization still supports the Haven of HVA, which offers similar services.

Due to the lack of funding – and with a previously established strategy to provide more affordable housing options to an area desperately in need – HVA officials unanimously decided to refurbish 14 of the Grace House units and create the Oaks at Hope Villages.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Kirk Ray Smith, CEO of HVA. “I think the pros outweigh the cons because we know we’re preventing homelessness by providing affordable housing.”

The Oaks opened Oct. 1, and Smith said only one unit remains available. Another 11-unit HVA community, Goldsmith Gardens, is full, and the organization is working to acquire 20 more in Clearwater.

Multiple Grace House residents remained at the site and now live in the Oaks at Hope Villages, including Holly Johannes and her 17-year-old son. In addition to some remodeling, she said the atmosphere has also changed.

“I have noticed a sense of calm from the residents and kids now that everything has transitioned from the Grace House to the Oaks,” said Johannes. “I can finally breathe now, and I have no worries as to where I can call home.

“We didn’t know if we were going to be back on the streets or somewhere else.”

While the nonprofit offers several other services to Pinellas residents – and Smith hopes to soon expand throughout Tampa Bay – he said HVA takes pride in addressing area homelessness. According to Smith, 90% of families they help go on to find permanent housing.

He noted that domestic violence victims often stay with or return to their abusers as they cannot afford to live alone. Smith explained that HVA helps people at its shelters qualify for housing assistance and find a more permanent solution.

“And so, this was no different,” he said. “It’s just in this case – she could actually stay there. She doesn’t have to move.”

Housing vouchers, said Smith, allow residents to pay about 30% of their income towards rent, up to a certain amount. For example, he said, families could pay $330 per month for an apartment that would go for $1,700 on the open market.

In addition to thanking HVA’s officials, Johannes said she was also grateful for the case managers at Catholic Charities. She explained that her vouchers through the St. Petersburg Housing Authority ended earlier this year, but the local Catholic Charities affiliate ensured she remained in place.

Those case managers, added Johannes, want to support her success throughout the year and for the long term. While she endured many struggles while fighting to overcome homelessness, Johannes said the turmoil was also a “blessing in disguise.”

“I have built such great bonds with my case managers and other families that are currently living here at the Oaks,” she added. “I am so thankful for what we have received.”

The organization will continue striving to help reduce the number of people without a home by providing affordable options, Smith said. He relayed that HVA also provides wraparound services to the residents, including financial literacy training, workforce development and life skills.

Smith said the overall goal is to offer a self-contained source for everything a family needs to be successful. He expressed HVA’s intent to adding to more affordable units to its inventory in Pinellas and beyond, including through properties that may require some retrofitting.

“We know if we do that, then the need for shelters, although it may not go away, it would certainly be a lot less,” said Smith.

Johannes is on a one-year lease, but she is already looking to the future. She hopes to renew the agreement when it expires and remain in the place she and her son can now call home.

“I am wanting to be within this community and build deeper bonds with the staff and families,” Johannes said.

Read the article at https://stpetecatalyst.com/nonprofit-transitions-shelter-to-affordable-housing/

Girl Scouts of West Central Florida has received a $2 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

This gift is part of an $84.5 million donation awarded to Girl Scouts USA and 29 local Girl Scout Councils selected by Scott, making this unprecedented investment the largest donation from a single individual in the national organization’s history, according to a statement.

Locally, this gift will accelerate GSWCF’s equity initiative to deliver a high-quality Girl Scout leadership experience to more girls across the council’s eight-county footprint.

In the past year, GSWCF has generated nearly $1 million to fund Girl Scout programming and seeks to raise another $1.2 million in this fiscal year to support this equity initiative. Currently, major funders include Juvenile Welfare Board, Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, United Way of Central Florida, Publix Super Market Charities, Simply Healthcare, United Way Suncoast and United Way Pasco.

Read the article at https://tbbwmag.com/2022/10/18/mackenzie-scott-donates-2-million-to-girl-scouts-of-west-central-florida/

A few days ago, firefighters took time out of their busy schedules to volunteer and pack bags filled with items designed to save babies lives during sleep, which is all part of the Sleep Baby Safely Campaign.

Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Rebecca Albert, joins Gayle Guyardo, the host of the nationally syndicated health and wellness show, Bloom, to share more about the campaign.

Watch the interview in its entirety at https://www.wfla.com/bloom/sleep-baby-safely-campaign/

Over a ten-year period in Pinellas County, there have been more than 100 babies lost from suffocation because of unsafe sleep practices.

Rather than responding to tragedy, firefighters in St. Petersburg are trying to prevent it.

On Tuesday, 14 firefighters packed bags with items to help babies sleep safely. There are onesies that say “this side up” which helps remind parents that sleeping on their back is best.

There are also sleep sacks and informational books in the bags as well.

This is all part of the “Sleep Baby Safely” campaign. The Juvenile Welfare Board, which created the campaign, has cut infant sleep-related deaths in half since it launched in 2018.

“Suffocation from unsafe sleep is the #1 cause of preventable child death, not just in Pinellas County but across Florida and the U.S.,” St. Petersburg Rescue Chief Ian Womack, who is part of the campaign, said in a statement. 

“It’s a tragedy that’s 100% preventable, and we’re committed to doing whatever we can to educate and prevent these needless deaths.”

Over a ten-year period in Pinellas County, there have been more than 100 babies lost from suffocation because of unsafe sleep practices, according to the JWB. This campaign is one way to help.

Read the article and watch the video here: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/pinellas-county-st-pete-firefighters-sleep-baby-safely/67-cf9f708a-3d76-4af8-9a99-6e024f741185

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County enlisted the help of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue to help babies sleep safely across Pinellas County.

September is “Baby Safety Month” and October is “Infant Sleep Awareness Month.” According to the JWB in Pinellas County, over a dozen firefighters with St. Pete Fire Rescue packed bags filled with sleep-safe items for babies.

According to the county, nearly 7,000 bags to parents of newborns were given out, including onesies imprinted with “Sleep Me This Side Up,” sleep sacks, storybooks and door hangers.

Thousands of the bags are given away annually and more information can be found online.

Read the article and view the news coverage in its entirety at https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/st-pete-firefighters-pack-care-packages-for-newborns/

We’re seeing an increase in infant deaths from unsafe sleeping in Tampa Bay. We’re getting some helpful tips to ensure your kids are safe while sleeping.

Dr. Kelly Devers, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, and Dr. Ashley McPhie, Chief Medical Officer, Tampa Family Health join us to share helpful tips to ensure your child is safe while sleeping.

In 2021, there were 11 child deaths due to infant unsafe sleep – which is an increase from last year, according to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner,

In the last 8 years, 190 infants have died from unsafe sleep across Tampa Bay.

Dr. Devers tells us these are 100% preventable deaths. She says she’s seeing cases where babies are dying because their cribs are full of stuff, or they get wedged between the couch. Infants lack the muscle control needed to move their necks if something is blocking their airways.

Dr. Ashely McPhie says Black infants are two times more likely to die from sleep-related causes.

They also strongly recommend infants do not sleep with pillow-top mattresses, comforters, fluffy pillows, and stuffed animals. These pose a danger to infants in cribs as well as adult beds.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, infants 6 months and younger should practice the ABCs of safe sleep. The safest way for infants to sleep is alone on their backs in a crib. This minimizes the risk of the infant suffocating, especially if they have not developed neck muscle control. Babies should be put to sleep on their backs in a crib with a tight-fitting crib sheet and firm mattress.

For more information, head to PreventNeedlessDeaths.com.

Read the entire article and watch the video at https://www.abcactionnews.com/morning-blend/infant-sleeping-related-deaths-up-in-tampa-bay-tips-to-keep-your-kids-safe

The mission of the School-Based Health Services Program is to assess, protect and promote the health of children and adolescents, helping to assure that they are healthy in the classroom and ready to learn. To assess, preserve, and promote the health of children and adolescents, helping to ensure that they are healthy in the classroom and prepared to learn.

Prevention, intervention and emergency school-based health services are provided every day to adolescents attending five Pinellas County schools:

• Boca Ciega High School
• Gibbs High School
• Northeast High School
• Pinellas Park High School
• Largo High School

The high schools selected are based on several factors:

1. A high percentage of free or reduced lunches
2. High numbers of youth with significant discipline issues and histories of risky behaviors
3. High incidences of chronic health problems

School-Based Health Services staff deliver effective, efficient and quality healthcare on-site and provide the infrastructure necessary for treating:

• Obesity and other chronic diseases
• Provide care for acute illnesses
• Work towards alleviating co-morbidities among at-risk high school students
• Deliver culturally competent primary preventive, and emergency health care
• Improves the overall health status in a substantially uninsured and medically underserved population through shared school-based and community resources
• Provide a focus on prevention and early intervention
• Offers a combination of testing such as pregnancy or STD testing
• Medical assessments
• Physical examinations
• Substance abuse counseling
• Case management
• Dental health education
• Diabetes education
• Nutrition education
• Health education and health promotion

The School-Based Health Services Program is a partnership between the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, Pinellas County School System, and the Juvenile Welfare Board.

Visit bit.ly/schoolbasedhealthservices for specific forms to fill out.

Read the article on the Weekly Challenger: https://theweeklychallenger.com/school-based-health-services/

R’Club Child Care will expand its program at the Lemon Street Early Learning Academy to include children ages 2 months to 3 years old, starting Aug. 10.

Enrollment began July 26.

The academy is located at 1019 E Lemon St.

For information, call 727-938-1611 or email vbotts@rclub.net.

Funding for the program was provided by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.

One of the biggest concerns coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic was the impact on our children’s education. Last year, we found that Tampa Bay area students were struggling with learning loss, and this year, we’re finding the rebound is slow.

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) is particularly concerned about grade-level reading loss during the pandemic. That’s why the organization spent a few weeks in July driving around the Pinellas County Schools Book Bus giving out about 10,000 free books to children in the community.

“As part of our Grade Level Reading campaign for Pinellas County, Early Readers, Future Leaders, we put together a number of things to get out in the summer about the importance of reading. And we do things year-round to try to help our kids all strive to read at grade level by third grade,” explained Danielle Hintz with JWB.

Florida Standard Assessments (FSA) latest results from 2022 show those reading at grade level or above by third grade across the state has dropped 5% since 2019. It’s now at 53%.

Breaking that down in the Tampa Bay area shows learning loss in every third-grade English Language Arts (ELA) in each county:

• Pasco County 2019: 60%, 2022: 53%
• Pinellas County 2019: 56%, 2022: 52%
• Polk County 2019: 52%, 2022: 48%
• Hillsborough County 2019: 52%, 2022: 49%
• Hernando County 2019: 57%, 2022: 54%

Learning loss is not just affecting reading. Last summer when we pulled grades, we found that math was a particular problem.

We asked for fourth quarter grades again for this last school year, and while many districts are still working to provide data, Hillsborough Public School’s numbers show the bigger picture with a slight rebound from last year, but many students still struggling.

• Looking at high school students, failing grades in math are still up 4% from pre-pandemic numbers
• 10th grade, said to be one of the most important years for a college transcript, shows the biggest slide in math with 6% more F’’s than before the pandemic
• Grades 8-11 each saw a 3% increase of F’s in ELA from pre-pandemic

Middle school students in Pinellas County Schools (PCS) are still receiving slightly more F’s in math and ELA than pre-pandemic, but the rebound from pandemic years is significant.

This is especially true for PCS high school math. Last year, 30% of high school students received F’s, this year, it’s down to 20% — very similar to 2019.

Hillsborough County Public School’s Superintendent Addison Davis addressed the learning loss in a press conference Monday regarding more than two dozen schools receiving higher grade assessments overall from the state’s FSA testing.

“Are we out of the weeds related to what the pandemic has impacted us academically? The answer to that is absolutely not. If you look at it, we still have a ways to go to catch up where we were prior to the pandemic,” Davis said.

He added that active solutions include:

• Systematic phonics
• New ELA and math initiatives rolling out next year
• Tier curriculum to address student needs

“The kids that struggle the most are, again, the kids that are going to continue to have that challenge and that’s why it’s so important to have summer programming,” Hintz advised.

Thursday is the last day of book bus stops with JWB. They are running two buses and any child or teen in the community is welcome to show up and pick out two books.

The stops are about an hour or less each and include:

• B&GC Pinellas Park 9 a.m.
• Forbes Recreation Center in Pinellas Park 10 a.m.
• Magnolia Day school in St. Petersburg 10 a.m.
• YMCA Suncoast in Palm Harbor 11:45 a.m.
• Tarpon Springs in Public Library 12:30 p.m.
• YMCA in Palm Harbor 12:45 p.m.

Outside of the Book Bus, ReadStrong Pinellas is a free resource for books in Pinellas County.

In addition, children in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties can access free books online at Renaissance myON.

Local libraries everywhere are also hosting summer reading programs.

Scholastic offers free online reading and activities until Sept. 3.

To find more online resources for free books and reading activities for children anywhere, click here.

Watch the news broadcast and read the article on ABCActionNews.com: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/in-depth/pandemic-learning-loss-slowly-rebounding-from-the-20-21-school-year-but-children-still-struggle