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Donors Offer Support For Female Veterans Project

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

TAMPA - They gave sheets and towels, plates and silverware.

Some pledged beds and couches. Others parted with cash or volunteered their time.

In the three weeks since The Tampa Tribune featured a transitional program for female veterans and its call for donations, readers from New Port Richey to Sarasota have offered support.

"It's just been a real outpouring of community," said Sara Romeo, executive director of Tampa Crossroads, which created the program known as the Athena Project. "The idea that we have female war veterans in our community who don't have a place to lay their head at night struck a nerve."

Sixteen female veterans will partake in the program, which houses them in a two-story, turn-of-the-20th century building where World War II soldiers used to live.

The federal project allows the women to stay in the recently restored home, at 1301 E. Columbus Drive, for up to two years while they receive counseling for post-traumatic stress disorders, self-esteem issues and substance abuse. They also receive help finding employment.

Tampa Crossroads bought the building and got federal dollars, then put the word out for help with furnishings and other items.

Rooms to Go and Haverty's quickly stepped up and promised furniture. One woman, who travels the country with her husband in their RV, saw the story while stopped in Lakeland and wants to make quilts for the women.

Individuals Reach Out

Another woman, whose daughter is enlisted now, said she couldn't afford to give much. A beautician, she wants to come to the facility once a month to do the women's hair.

Some folks want to teach computer classes. Others have volunteered to decorate the building for holidays. One woman wants to hand over her antique chandelier.

"She said she thinks it would be beautiful in there," Romeo said.

A group of local artists at TampaArtist.com are promoting a show Aug. 2 in which all proceeds go toward the project.

"Many of them are veterans themselves," Romeo said.

Grace Terry, a social worker in Tampa, loves to shop at thrift stores. She plans to organize a donation drive for the women among her favorite haunts.

The economy has her thinking about which charities she can help, Terry said.

"Maybe a lot of people in the community, their hearts got touched," Terry said. "It's just something that touched mine."

Romeo credits some of the support to living in a military community with MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and plenty of retired soldiers.

Mostly she thinks the Athena Project is a program that resonates with donors because it helps a truly underserved population.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are more than 194,000 homeless veterans on any given night nationwide; about 6,000 are women.

Needs Still Exist

Romeo is grateful for all the support, but there are still needs, such as a big truck to be used for about a month to pick up all the goods. The building could use a freezer, refrigerator and yard tools, such as a lawn mower.

Also needed, four computers - two for staff and two for clients.

Tampa Crossroads plans a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October. The date got pushed back two months to give the agency time to install a wheelchair lift and fire safety sprinklers.

For information about the program or to help, call Romeo at (813) 238-5210.

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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