A Treasure Coast nonprofit that assists families struggling to afford housing has significantly expanded its facilities, adding more shelter rooms and transitional apartments as demand for services continues to grow.
Hope for Families recently completed a $6 million expansion project funded entirely by private donors. Marty Mercado, the organization’s executive director, said the effort was driven by a rapidly growing waitlist in recent years.
“Probably about three years ago, we were noticing our waiting list climbing. What started out as like a waiting list of 40 families trying to get in, within about six to eight months, it was jumping to 60. And then at one point, our highest wait list was 180,” Mercado said.
In response, the nonprofit studied ways to increase its impact and eventually settled on a plan to expand both shelter capacity and longer-term housing options for families working toward stability.
“The final product was to expand the shelter space. So we went from 21 rooms now to 40 rooms. So we added 40 new shelter rooms. And then we knew that there was a housing shortage in the area. So we went ahead and approved apartments. And those nine apartments are considered transitional apartments, and they are for families that need a little more time,” she said.
The expansion doubled the organization’s capacity. The shelter can now house more than 120 people across its 40 rooms, while the new apartments provide additional privacy and independence for families preparing to move into permanent housing.
“We have a couple private rooms now for people that may have just had a baby and need a little more privacy. And then the apartments are one-bedroom apartments, and there's nine of them. And they have full operating kitchens and really nice bathrooms,” Mercado said.
The opening comes amid broader uncertainty in housing assistance programs and rising housing costs, factors Mercado said have made it harder for families to secure stable housing.
“HUD had to cut back a lot of funding and was part of the cutbacks that were happening a year ago. So we were seeing people unable to receive the resources that they needed from HUD, as well as local apartment prices going sky high, and the living wage not keeping up with that. The government recognizes a fair market value for a one-bedroom apartment at $1,569. And that's just not something that can be found in the area we live in,” she said.
Alongside housing, the nonprofit emphasizes programs designed to help families regain financial stability.
Mercado said many residents arrive with significant financial hurdles despite holding jobs.
“So we were starting to see more and more people come into the shelter with huge barriers. And it was mostly in the financial literacy part of these barriers. So all of our residents are working. Nobody's not working. Everybody's super productive and doing what they should be doing to try to be sustainable. But life was just becoming too expensive,” she said.
Mental health support is another priority for the organization, which is exploring ways to make therapy more accessible for residents.
“So we're trying to find solutions to have on-site therapy or to make it a little more accessible, maybe doing Zoom therapy sessions and trying to get them into a therapist as quickly as we can,” she said.
Residents in the program are required to work, participate in financial literacy education and remain substance-free during their stay. The nonprofit also partners with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter to help families who are ready to move toward homeownership.
“We work with them to get them into their program because we don't want them to have to be lifetime renters. We want them to the dream that everybody has, which is eventually own their own home,” Mercado said.
While the expansion increases the organization’s reach, Mercado said additional resources are still needed to support the growing program.
“Our budget has not doubled, which we're very proud of, but has increased by 25 percent. We have a $1.8 million budget. We're definitely going to need a little bit more money. We had to hire four new employees. We can always use towels, sheets for single beds, food donations, clothing donations, you know, just the basic necessities for some of these families. And then we always need volunteers. We're always looking for tutors to work with the children, as well as read to our children and just spend time, what I call play therapy, just playing with them on the playground and letting kids be kids,” she said.
Looking ahead, Mercado said the organization is already considering additional services for families it supports.
“In the future, probably sometime within the next five years, I would like to open up a Hope for Families Child Care Center specifically for the families that are currently living in the shelter, the apartments and families that have gone on and graduated out of the apartments. Because if we invest in our little ones, the generations change,” she said.