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Pinellas Hope Is 'A Miracle' For The Homeless In St. Pete

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By STEVE KORNACKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2007

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ST. PETERSBURG - Matthew Luther felt invigorated while setting up camp at Pinellas Hope, the 10-acre campsite for the homeless that opened Saturday.

"This is going to be nice," Luther said. "We have showers and it's going to be like camping. It sure beats sleeping under a bridge. And the security and fences here will cut down on the violence and crack heads you see on the street."

Home for Luther recently had been under the elevated Interstate 375 at the 15th Street North and Fifth Avenue North near the St. Vincent de Paul facility in St. Petersburg.

Cheryll Meininger and her husband spent Friday night sleeping in a truck in the parking lot for Catholic Charities in St. Petersburg. She said they stayed there because they did not want to miss the first bus taking those accepted into the campsite.

"This place came along like a miracle for us," she said. "Last night, we were evicted and I'd just heard of this place. It was our first day of being homeless."

'This Tells People We Care'

Pinellas Hope is a $1 million project funded by Pinellas County, the city of St. Petersburg and retired businessman Harry Stonecipher. The project is coordinated and administered by Catholic Charities of St. Petersburg, with the land in an industrial area donated by the Catholic Diocese. It is located at the end of 126th Avenue, west of 49th Street North in mid-Pinellas County.

It is the answer to a need made highly visible in January after police officers slashed and seized tents set up by the homeless downtown.

"This tells people we care, and some people don't think we do," said Catholic Charities President Frank Murphy, speaking for all groups involved in the project.

St. Petersburg College donated architectural services and modular buildings used to prepare food. Progress Energy provided lighting and startup assistance. Religious Community Services and the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless/Homeless Leadership Network are providing meals and volunteer support. Terra Construction cleared the site, and Krane Development prepared it.

"It does show that they care," said Luther, who participated in last week's protest by the homeless in St. Petersburg before the Republican presidential candidate debate.

"I'm very appreciative of it. I never thought I would be homeless."

There are indoor showers, bathrooms and tents covering tables for meals served three times daily.

Guests were issued a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, personal storage locker and a bag for belongings. They had to agree to meet with a caseworker and to abide by rules such as no drinking or drugs. Smoking is allowed only in designated areas, and there are 10 p.m. weekday and midnight weekend curfews. They are expected to work, seek employment with on-site computers or apply for services.

Counseling and medical care will be provided along with day labor options. Murphy said the goal is to help people transition into self-sufficiency.

Police officers handed out information about the campsite in various homeless locations, and each person coming to the camp was processed by Catholic Charities. Florida Department of Law Enforcement background checks were run, and sexual predators and those with a history of violence were not admitted.

Murphy said 72 applications had been processed, with about 10 either not qualifying or opting out. He expected about 75 people by nightfall and 200 by tonight. Capacity is 250, and the campsite will remain open through April 30, when Murphy said its success would be reviewed with hopes of continuing it.

Getting Back On Their Feet

Meininger was setting up her tent beneath one of the many tall oaks on the site, with help from Catholic Charities volunteers Judy Archambault and Carlos Berrios.

"My husband is a roofer who is out of work with the construction business down," Meininger said. "I am a certified nursing assistant, and I'm having a hard time finding someone to hire me since I hurt my neck two years ago. I can't do heavy lifting. But I need a job desperately."

Luther said he lost his job and apartment after spending time in Pinellas County Jail on a disorderly conduct misdemeanor charge. He hopes to find work as a machinist and said Pinellas Hope provides him "a chance to get on my feet again."

Meininger looked up into the oaks and across the way at palms and smiled, saying, "It's beautiful and we have showers, toilets and washing machines. And I like camping, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a tent."

Catholic Charities volunteer Rick Anderson, who is living in a social-services supervised apartment and attending classes that will prepare him for jobs with heating and cooling companies, was walking in their shoes one year ago.

"I had been in jail and was homeless on the streets of St. Petersburg," Anderson said. "Then I turned my life over to God, and I hope to have a job and place of my own soon.

"This is a wonderful program. They can get off the streets and turn their lives around. They will help you here if you want help. But you have to really want it."

Researcher Diane Grey contributed to this report. Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at

skornacki@tampatrib.com or (813) 731-8170.

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