Hope Lives Here
The numbers are staggering.
52% of heads of households in America are headed by a single parent.
84% of those homes are led by single moms.
How many broken families in Pinellas County suffer in silence and have lost hope? Behind every door at Shepherd’s Village, there is a story of women and their children who come to us, desperate for help. Here’s where they start:
Frustrated, fearful, and feeling forgotten.
Hurting beyond their hope.
Depressed and in despair.
Thinking that nobody cares.
Believing there is a hole in their family.
Before they find out about Shepherd’s Village, many mothers and children are one bed away from being homeless or living at a homeless shelter. They are devastated by divorce, betrayal, abuse, death, or a myriad of other circumstances. Many are trapped in a single mindset that they should be able to do this on their own…and they’ve been failing miserably.
But, there is hope.
Within the SV community, two generations–moms and children–can find hope that they have not found in other places. Lives are changed here.
Highlights from our residents:
“There was a day I put my wash in the washer and forgot to put it into the dryer. I rushed downstairs, totally frustrated and overwhelmed with my life, and I found another one of the moms not only dried my clothing, she folded it all for me, too. Everyone just helps each other. I had never experienced anything like that before.”
“There were nights when I would be sad that the dinner table would just be two of us, only to be invited to eat with another SV family. Suddenly, it felt like we had extended family.” “We don’t spend holidays alone here. We have each other, and we have a new kind of family because of Shepherd’s Village.”
“The sacred moments we share. The many prayer walks and talks where God always has something to say to us. Moms can confide in one another the deep hurts we have and then pray for each other. At Bible studies, sometimes someone shares and the other mothers come one by one to put a hand on the one who is hurting and begin to pray. It is in those moments that we realize, we are not a family with a hole, we are a whole family. God has singled us out for His purpose–to both find and share hope in the midst of our hurt at loving home called Shepherd’s Village.”
For 25 years, Shepherd’s Village’s doors have been opened to 280 families and 650 children who have found hope.
Shepherd’s Village is more than just affordable residential housing. We are a Whole Family Model with a strategy to help both mothers and children find hope in their hurt and impact the tomorrows of two generations at a time.
You can start right now, right where you are. Through the online resources of Shepherd’s Village University, you have the opportunity to begin walking down the path toward a life that is changed. Let us pray for you!