By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

At least one Kissimmee-based organization for transitional families is financially stable in the wake of the state’s $3 billion budget deficit after Helping Others Make the Effort approved a full merger with The Center for Drug-Free Living.

Under the agreement, finalized in January, HOME’s transitional housing campus and its programs will be incorporated into the center’s service offerings and keep its name, a move that brings financial stability to the local organization.

“We entered into this to have more sustainability long-term and expand our services,” Cara Eule, program director of HOME, said. “We feel strongly that the Center is the best choice for HOME. We’re going to be here for a long time.”

HOME collaborated with the Center on past projects, which Eule called “a good trial run.”

“We made a commitment a while back,” Todd Dixon, the Center’s director of community affairs, said, adding the Center provided financial support to HOME more than six months ago “to help keep the doors open.”

HOME provides up to six months of housing for up to 14 families of women and children dealing with homelessness in Osceola County with the stipulation the families complete life-skills classes to learn to build a self-sufficient life.

“HOME is a great program. A lot of agencies right now are struggling financially,” Dixon said. “(The merger) was a way to further our mission and keep needed services in the community.”

The acquisition allows HOME to implement some improvements to its programs, including adding security cameras with close-circuit monitoring to its Kissimmee campus, painting the buildings, enhancing current programs and possibly hiring a full-time security staff, according to Dixon.

“They’ll have the ability to interact with clients and provide a certain level of comfort,” Dixon said of the security team. Currently, the organization employs an outside security agency.

Part of the long-term strategy with the merger is to expand HOME’s campus by adding buildings able to house more families. Last year, HOME housed 27 families, Eule said.

“We intend to keep working toward those goals,” Dixon said.

An expansion is especially important to Eule and her team, as during the slow season, which runs through tax return time when families receive refunds, the campus is already full and a waiting list has formed.

“The worse the economy gets, the greater the need for our services,” Dixon said.

Eule also is concerned about state funding for the other local agencies that help with homelessness. HOME does not receive state funding but Eule anticipates agencies that do receive state funding will be receiving less this year due to state budget cuts, which may increase HOME’s clientele.

“Everyone is kind of waiting to see how funding is going to shake out from the state level,” she said.

Dixon agreed, adding that funding is becoming harder to come by and grants are more competitive.

The Center for Drug-Free Living, a behavioral health service, not-for-profit corporation, has operated in Osceola County since the 1970s, Dixon said, including operating the Osceola Outpatient Center and Prevention Program on Michigan Avenue in Kissimmee, as well as the 94-bed Juvenile Justice Center in Intercession City.

The agency has more than 600 employees in Osceola, Brevard, Seminole and Orange counties.