Hope Commons ribbon cutting Thursday

Hope Partnership works to find permanent, affordable housing for those in our community to help end homelessness and poverty in Central Florida.

While they work to help with homes, the organization has a new home itself.

The ribbon for Hope Commons, which will house the many partners it works with, will be held today at 10 a.m. The address is 122 W. Sproule Street in Kissimmee.

The organization last week announced all the spots for partners and other non-profit co-partners have been filled.

The building is part of the old campus of the First United Methodist School, which closed two years ago. Rev. Mary Downey, Hope Partnership’s founder and president, is a former pastor at First United Methodist. So, for her, the efforts truly have come full circle.

Hope Partnership has been using the space for over a year now, but after next week it will be public facing, and fully functional to meet with clients to serve their needs in a centralized location.

“When we started in 2013, we had a staff of two, and we were located on the (192) corridor because that’s where the greatest need was. Over the years, that need has shifted. As we’ve continued to grow, we’ve expanded space, for more than what we had on the corridor for case manager.

“When the pandemic happened, it changed the game, our mission, and we’re still living that. COVID funding linked to federal dollars was what helped our expanding. Those funds are going to sunset, so we’re sad about that. We hope someone at (Housing and Urban Development) will reconsider that.”

Now that those staffers are all returning to office space post-pandemic, there was not enough space for them in the offices west of town, Downey said.

“At the same time we were having conversations with the church about what they’d do with the school building,” she said. “We’ll still have a presence on the corridor.”

Nonprofits like iBuild — who Downey said did a lot of the work on the building pro bono to make it workable space — Habitat For Humanity,

Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County, Helping Hands Counseling, Rapid Rehousing and iDignity, which helps people clear hurdles in getting ID cards and Driver’s licenses, will have space at Hope Commons.

Partners all under one roof can foster a team-effort in working its mission, creating a true “village” feel.

“The need is greater than the capacity, and the only way out would be to create a large stock of housing that’s affordable,” Downey said. “And we can’t build ourselves out of a housing crisis. There needs to be incentives to build for affordability. Meanwhile, we’re going to continue to do everything we can to make sure everyone has a safe place to call home. We get creative, but creativity can only get you so far.”

It’s not the only good news Hope Partnership has had to announce of late. Last month, Florida Blue Foundation, the philanthropic foundation for Blue Cross Blue Shield, announced the organization would share in a $600,000 investment to directly improve access to and quality of mental well-being services to support community-based programs that enhance mental health, particularly for the underserved and uninsured.

Locally, the grant will provide improved access to mental health services in Osceola County by offering a dedicated mental and behavioral health staff to provide individual and peer-supported group therapies. They’ll address anxiety, depression, social isolation, coping skills, and trauma for community members living in hotels and motels, as well as those who are experiencing homelessness.