Dawning Family Services Expanded Project Brief 2020

Nearly Four Decades of Serving Families in Hillsborough County
Dawning Family Services, formerly Alpha House of Tampa, has been serving the homeless since 1981. Until recently, we offered shelter and support services to only pregnant women and women alone with small children — the “maternity home” model. In 2018, our Board of Directors approved a new mission to reflect the agency’s desire to address the growing need we are witnessing to serve families beyond our historic core population.
In addition, Dawning Family Services is significantly stepping up efforts to serve the critical need that exists in our community to provide housing stability for all disenfranchised families. This involves increasing the number of our emergency shelter units, expanding the population we serve to include a broader range of family types, and launching a new prevention program to provide basic needs and essential supports. Our newly expanded services will include both residential (emergency shelter) and non-residential (drop-in) services.
Website: http://dawningfamilyservices.org/
Office: 813-875-2024
Email: info@dawningfs.org
About Jack Berlin

Founded Accusoft (Pegasus Imaging) in 1991 and has been CEO ever since.
Very proud of what the team has created with edocr, it is easy to share documents in a personalized way and so very useful at no cost to the user! Hope to hear comments and suggestions at info@edocr.com.
Family service children House Dawning Family service shelter emergency shelter homeless center House solution center parent serve
Nearly Four Decades of Serving Families in Hillsborough County
Website: http://dawningfamilyservices.org/
Office: 813-875-2024
Email: info@dawningfs.org
About Jack Berlin

Founded Accusoft (Pegasus Imaging) in 1991 and has been CEO ever since.
Family service children House Dawning Family service shelter emergency shelter homeless center House solution center parent serve
 
 
 
DETAILED PROJECT INFORMATION 
After 38 years of providing safe shelter to homeless mothers with young children in Hillsborough 
County, Dawning Family Services (formerly Alpha House of Tampa) is significantly stepping up efforts to 
serve the critical need that exists in our community to provide housing stability for all disenfranchised 
families with minor children. That involves: 1) increasing the number of our emergency shelter units 
from 39 to 61; 2) expanding the homeless population we serve to include a broader range of families 
with children; and 3) launching a new prevention program to provide basic needs and essential 
supports, such as health care, food, and income supports, to families at high risk of becoming homeless. 
In other words, our newly expanded services will include both residential (emergency shelter) and non-
residential services (comprehensive services center). These strategies meet criteria established by the 
federal government as effective programs for ending homelessness for families with children. 
This solution is sorely needed based on the sheer volume of homeless families in Hillsborough County.  
 Based on the 2019 Point in Time Count Survey, it is estimated that 2000 adults and children in 
families are homeless over 
the course of a year.  
 And that does not include 
families identified by the 
Hillsborough County School 
district. In the 2015-2016 
school year (latest 
available), there were 424 
school children living in 
motels and another 2,351 
children who were 
doubled-up with another 
household for economic 
reasons. 
 Even more data paints “a 
growing home affordability 
crisis” in the county for the 
general population. 
According to the University 
of Florida Shimberg Center 
for Housing Studies, half of 
renters are “severely 
burdened” by housing 
costs, meaning that 
housing takes up more 
than half their income. 
 
 
According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, children who are homeless are more likely to 
have health issues and emotional problems than those stably housed. Homeless parents and children 
are more likely than housed families to be targets of violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and 
exploitation.  
Further, compared to their peers, children experiencing homelessness and housing instability experience 
higher rates of physical and mental (emotional and behavior development) health problems, develop-
mental delays, academic delays, and poor cognitive 
outcomes and depression. Precipitating reasons for these 
negative impacts include homeless infants lacking essential 
immunizations, parent-child separations, increased risks of 
asthma and lead poisonings in less than ideal housing 
situations, poor nutrition causing increased rates of stunted 
growth and anemia, and constant mobility which can lead to 
poor cognitive development. (Homelessness and Its Effects 
on Children: Family Housing Fund). 
 
Clearly, homelessness has a significant impact on children’s 
health. But housing policy makers agree: housing can serve 
as a platform to improve family health and well-being. 
(Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with 
Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: HHS, HUD, DOE, 
Oct. 2016). 
 
When fully operational, our expanded services will be 
delivered in a facility to be known as the Family Housing 
Solutions Center, which will create opportunities for 
thousands of these families—homeless and at-risk of 
becoming homeless—supporting them on their paths to 
housing stability and wellness. While there is a Community 
Housing Solutions Center for adults without children 
operated by DACCO, there has been no such center for 
families with minor children. Dawning Family Services is 
prepared to step into the breach by developing the 
community’s first Family Housing Solutions Center. It will 
comprise two family-based components: emergency shelter 
and a comprehensive drop-in services center. 
The Family Housing Solutions Center is being implemented 
in phases as renovations to our newly purchased facility are 
completed and construction of the new emergency shelter is 
finished. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Home of Their Own  
Cindy was doing her best to raise her  
3-year-old daughter, Ava. However, Ava’s 
uncontrollable outbursts were taking a 
toll on Cindy’s health, causing the two of 
them to become homeless. Cindy sought 
help from Dawning Family Services, 
where she and Ava were provided safe 
shelter and support services. As part of 
the family’s case management plan, 
developmental 
screenings 
were 
administered to Ava. Results from these 
suggested that a referral to a medical 
professional was appropriate. Ultimately, 
a psychiatrist diagnosed her with a 
genetic developmental disability, now 
understood as the cause of her severe 
behavioral and sensory disorders. A case 
manager referred Ava to a childcare 
program for children with special needs; 
she was soon enrolled. Since Ava was 
being cared for during the day, Cindy had 
time to focus on herself. She found a part-
time job, addressed her significant health 
issues, and began to focus on her own 
well-being. With assistance from Dawning 
Family Services, Cindy and Ava found a 
cozy apartment they now call their own. 
They continue to receive support from 
their case manager, but things are looking 
up for them and a new brighter future is 
dawning. 
 
 
EMERGENCY SHELTER COMPONENT 
Through the emergency shelter component, we provide temporary emergency shelter to parents with 
children who are homeless in our community. This short-term (up to 90-day) support offers safety and 
services to families seeking emergency shelter, including those who have been turned away from other 
shelters in Hillsborough County. Serving 61 families at a time (when new shelter construction is 
completed) our emergency shelter will provide immediate shelter for 244 families (an estimated 600 
children) seeking refuge from the storm of homelessness.  
Families in emergency shelter are provided essential services including: case management incorporating 
the principles of trauma-informed care, housing search and placement assistance, financial assistance 
(in the form of cash benefits and rent and utilities) to help them move into permanent housing, and 
post-shelter supportive services to ensure stability once permanently housed. This Housing First 
approach moves families more quickly into permanent housing. A major U.S. Department of Housing & 
Urban Development research effort offers compelling evidence that Housing First strategies are superior 
for reducing homelessness for families with children compared to transitional housing programs and 
exclusive emergency shelter interventions. 
Our recently expanded mission now allows Dawning Family Services to serve entire families (including 2-
parent, multi-generational, single fathers, etc.) without the need to separate parents and their older 
children. Findings from an analysis in a Homeless Families Research Brief suggests that a complex 
relationship exists between housing and family stability and that a majority of children separated at the 
time of shelter stay had been separated from the family for 18 months or more. The tragic reality is that 
many programs available to homeless families must separate children from parents to ensure the safety 
of children, and/or to meet programmatic requirements. Dawning Family Services will reduce these 
separations. 
Our strategies align with recommendations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, 
Housing and Urban Development, and Education on how housing providers should provide safe, stable, 
and nurturing environments for families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Funded 
strategies to improve the lives of at-risk children will include: 
 Connecting parents to information and offering application assistance to help children and their 
families access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental 
Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and Child Nutrition Programs; and ensuring 
families have active medical insurance coverage (Medicaid, Florida Kids Care, Indigent Care, 
Affordable Care Act) and access to routine and specialized healthcare.  
 
Identifying children who may have disabilities (including developmental delays) and ensuring 
they receive timely developmental screening, assessment, and evaluation, appropriate early 
intervention and preschool program services;  
 
Improving the health of mothers and newborns before, during, and after pregnancy, and 
teaching pregnant women parenting skills for supporting their children’s development and well- 
being through Healthy Start, Early Head Start, and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood 
Home Visiting.  
 
 
 
 Working in partnership with parents in our shelter to promote parent-child interaction, 
development-centered parenting, and family well-being. A variety of child development services 
are offered to ensure that young children are developmentally on track and that 
parents/caregivers receive the support they need to be successful and confident parents. We 
also work with the families of school-age children to ensure that they have the tools they need 
(uniforms [if required], backpacks, supplies, etc.) to be prepared for their respective academic 
settings. 
 Finding affordable child care that supports both children’s development and parents’ 
employment. Ensuring preschool-aged children have access to public preschool programs. 
 Building the capacity of parents by addressing the social-emotion and mental health needs of 
the children and their families, as well as substance use problems. 
 Using comprehensive trauma-informed approaches and coordinated systems of care that cut 
across service systems to meet the needs of children and their parents. 
Best-evidence strategies, such as supportive housing (provided by virtue of our Rapid Re-Housing [RRH] 
program) and nutritional support programs (like those coordinated by our case managers through 
community referrals), can mitigate the detrimental effects of homelessness. (Homelessness and Its 
Effects on Children: Family Housing Fund). 
COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES CENTER COMPONENT 
 
The family-focused comprehensive services component will serve families who are struggling, unstably 
housed, staying in motels, and at risk of homelessness. By providing access to essential support services 
and basic needs, hundreds of families will be able to connect with resources that will prevent housing 
crises to escalate and result in homelessness.  Our client-centered services will help families find positive 
alternatives to entering the shelter system. 
 
An array of prevention and diversion services will be phased in as funding becomes available and will be 
delivered by Dawning Family Services staff and/or via cross-system collaborations with community 
partner organizations.  Our initial non-residential service began in July 2019.   Dawning Family Services is 
serving a minimum of 21 families with children from the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative’s 
(THHI) Continuum of Care (CoC) Coordinated Entry List. This collaboration allows us to provide Rapid 
ReHousing assistance (housing search and placement, utility and security deposits, short-term rental 
assistance and follow-up case management) to these families so they can move into and sustain homes 
of their own.  Funding is anticipated to continue through 2021 at its current level. 
Through grant funding to begin in October 2019, walk-in visitors and callers will meet with a 
Prevention/Diversion Specialist who will determine if the family has an immediate need for shelter.  If 
not, the Prevention/Diversion Specialist will direct the family to services offered through Dawning 
Family Services staff or referrals to community partner organizations: community system navigation, 
employment services, physical and mental health services, mediation with landlords, benefits 
navigation, legal services, food, and services for survivors of domestic violence.  Prevention/diversion 
services may entail conflict resolution or help connecting with family or friends, providing a bus pass to 
stay with a relative, assistance with past-due rent or a car repair, a gift card to a grocery store to help 
offset meal costs for whom the family has been staying, etc.  The goal of diversion is not to turn families 
away or deny services.  Diversion is focused on serving families in crisis by helping them find positive 
 
 
alternatives to the trauma of entering the homeless shelter system or staying in a place not meant for 
human habitation.   
Although the comprehensive services center will be a new addition to Hillsborough County, it is not an 
entirely new model. Similar navigation centers exist across the county but are unable to meet the 
demand for services. 
THE NEW FACILITY 
With the conception of the Family Housing Solutions Center, 
the Board of Directors recognized that its long-time facility 
on Tampania Avenue, in a mixed-use residential and 
commercial neighborhood, was not well-suited to the 
services that we were delivering, and that are needed by the 
clients. Therefore, in the second half of 2018, we sold the 
property and purchased a new property at 6718 North 
Armenia Avenue, in West Tampa, an area of much greater 
need.  The site is approximately 1.69 acres and has two 
buildings totaling 5,210 square feet. The existing buildings, to be used for administrative offices and the 
comprehensive services center, require some rehabilitation and additions, and the emergency shelter 
needs to be constructed. 
The estimated 18,000 square feet for the residential portion of the facility will include 61 rooms for 
resident households, each with space for two bunk beds (four occupants) as well as space to set up a 
crib or toddler bed. Each room will share a bathroom with shower and a kitchenette. Room design will 
allow for housing larger families. We anticipate serving 61 families at one time, averaging four persons 
per household, yielding 244 individuals in emergency shelter on any given night. Several beds will be set 
aside for homeless families identified by law enforcement outside of normal business hours. There also 
will be about 15 additional beds available for cold weather shelter. Until the new emergency shelter is 
constructed, Dawning Family Services is providing emergency shelter free-of-charge to families in 
apartments we rented throughout the community. 
The estimated 10,000-square feet for the services center will incorporate a reception area as well as 
confidential office spaces for intake, systems navigation, case management and for our partner agencies 
to offer their services. In addition, the Center will include meeting space for group meetings, classes and 
trainings, and computer lab. The service center will also have public restrooms, showers, a diaper depot, 
and a food pantry. 
The schedule for completion of the new facility is as follows: 
 Administrative and Program staff move in: completed 
 Family Services Center opens: Spring 2020 
 1st Phase of the new shelter opens: Spring 2021 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OUTCOMES AND RESULTS TO BE ACHIEVED 
In 2019, Dawning Family Services served 100 families - 108 adults and 182 children-- in emergency 
shelter.  Five households were headed by two-parent families, one household was multi-generational, 
and one household was made of up a mother, her 19-year old son and her two minor children.  We are 
experiencing an increase in the number of children served since we are no longer limited to serving 
children under the age of 5.  We expect to provide shelter to about the same number in 2020, and until 
the new shelter is completed, when our capacity will increase to 244 families a year, or 976 individuals. 
Until that time, we are coordinating with local apartment complexes under a master lease agreement. 
Utilizing 2- and 3-bedroom units, we rent apartments sufficient to shelter 30 families (free-of-charge to 
them) for up to 90 days. We have secured funds from the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative, 
Publix Super Market Charities, and Florida Blue Foundation for this temporary shelter. Our alignment 
with the best practice models of Housing First and Rapid Exit, has allowed us to keep pace with our 2018 
shelter numbers (140 adults and 165 children) even with the reduction of emergency shelter units we 
currently have available.   
Dawning Family Services will serve even more families through our drop-in housing services. Although 
the comprehensive services center will be a new addition to Hillsborough County, it is not an entirely 
new model. Similar navigation centers exist across the county. Because this is the first such facility for 
families here, it is difficult to predict the numbers that will be served; a conservative estimate is 300 
unduplicated households per year.  
 Projected Outcomes:  
 60% of families seeking emergency shelter will be diverted from entering the homeless system 
 75% of families sheltered will exit to permanent housing  
 75% of households have increased total income between shelter entry and exit  
 95% of school-age children are enrolled in school while in shelter   
 95% of age-appropriate children will receive Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) 
developmental screenings 
CONCLUSION 
 
Dawning Family Services continues to fill a critical need in our community to support homeless families 
with children, and now will also serve the many families at risk of becoming homeless. Through our 
expanded services, we will positively impact the lives of hundreds of families and thousands of children 
who are our neighbors in Hillsborough County.  By leveraging support for the Family Housing Solutions 
Center from the Tampa Bay community, including government, foundations, corporations, and 
individual donors, together we can deliver on the common purpose of making lives better by addressing 
one of society’s biggest challenges…helping the most vulnerable families with children in our community 
to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency.