The Florida Realtors Association embarked on a statewide tour in the late spring to collaborate with local associations in the effort to reduce homelessness.
The Florida Realtors Association is taking a leadership role to advocate, engage and collaborate with each of its 13 districts, which collectively represent every community in Florida and 127,000 Realtor members.
On July 10, the tour went through West Palm Beach, where the 2014 president of Florida Realtors, the 2014 Florida Realtors leadership team and members of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches went to the Lord’s Place, a local nonprofit organization, to discuss how Realtors can assist in breaking the cycle of homelessness.
“We thank Dianna Stanley and the group for speaking with us and facilitating a collaborative effort to address homelessness in this community. The facilities at the Lord’s Place are impressive, and they provide amazing services to the less fortunate and, as a result, are changing many lives,” said Sherri Meadows, president of Florida Realtors. “The conversations we had will help the leadership team and I draft the necessary regulations and legislation to create an even bigger impact on our communities than what where we are doing right now.”
The Lord’s Place has multiple locations and operations that help to break the cycle of homelessness. Burckle Place is a safe haven for single women. The Family Campus has services to address mental health, medication management, physical health needs, parenting, education, childcare, transportation, employment training and more. The Men’s Campus provides supportive housing to 50 formerly homeless men.
The Lord’s Place also runs a program called Operation Home Ready, a permanent supportive housing program that allows former chronically homeless individuals to rent their own apartment.
Also, in the past year alone, the Lord’s Place has helped 336 formerly homeless men and women acquire job skills that resulted in local jobs for 139 individuals. The Lord’s Place has a few enterprises of its own to keep residents from slipping back into homelessness. The agency has a thrift store, landscaping company and catering business that help residents gain skills to stay employed and support themselves.
With Realtors from all over the state making similar efforts to eradicate homelessness with the help of great programs like the Lord’s Place, even more lives will soon be changed for the better.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for us to be able to collaborate with the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches,” said Stanley, CEO of the Lord’s Place. “It is also an honor to provide direction to inspire Florida Realtors’ leadership team to pass future legislation that will provide a positive influence on our community.”
For more information about the Lord’s Place, visit www.thelordsplace.org.
Contact Aimée Schroeppel at aschroeppel@thelordsplace.org for volunteer information.
ABOVE: Members of a Florida Realtors Association delegation, along with members of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, met with Lord’s Place officials during a tour on July 10.
