Across the nation, people in arrears on their rent are savoring a brief and last-minute reprieve granted by the federal government’s decision to extend its moratorium on evictions.

Locally, as the end of the moratorium approached, the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas found itself inundated by apprehensive renters.

“We started getting about 30 emails a day as people were in sheer panic,” chief executive officer Amy Foster said.

According to the organization, about 13,140 Pinellas County households are behind in their rent. 

“There is a lot of despair we’re hearing directly from families every day. These are not people who are not working. They are people who are working and can’t figure out how to make ends meet. We do not have a single bed available for families right now,” Foster told me this week.

“There are 60 families that we know of sleeping in their cars and in the street.”

It’s a situation that portends disaster for thousands on the brink of eviction. Without financial help, some may be fortunate to be allowed to squeeze in with family and friends, but others might be forced to sleep in their cars, a surreptitious presence in a Walmart parking lot, or find a spot on the periphery of a city park. Surely you have seen the vehicles, windows covered with black garbage bags or bedding and parked in the same place day after day?

For some, this week’s 60-day eviction reprieve, ordered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could simply be postponement of the inevitable. At present, according to information compiled by the Homeless Leadership Alliance as the end of the moratorium approached, about 2,100 evictions were near the final stage in the court system. In an ominous warning, it added, “When the moratorium expires, tenants will be served with writs that give them just 24 hours to vacate their homes.”

And go where, is the question. There are, the agency said, just 28 available and affordable units for every 100 low-income families in Pinellas County.

“Clearly, we are in a system that would not be able to handle that influx of evictions overnight,” Michael Raposa, CEO of St. Vincent de Paul CARES, said Wednesday.

An overwhelmed system will mean many people will end up without a roof over their heads, joining, the Homeless Leadership Alliance said, the 1,970 individuals and 2,760 children who are already without homes.

Surprisingly, Raposa offers a note of optimism. His agency has not seen a “dramatic increase” in requests for rental help, neither at its St. Petersburg facility, nor at the parish level.

“The thing that I do know is being homeless is not easy and getting out of it is even harder,” Raposa said. “A household that has been stable for a longer time, they’re probably going to fight to find another roof over their heads, or work it out with a network they have in place.”

What’s exasperating is that there’s plenty of federal money available to help keep people in their homes, but only a smattering has been distributed.

“It makes you wonder if people don’t know those resources are there,” Raposa said.

“I just think that government regulations got in the way,” Foster said of the slow disbursement, explaining that there is a sensitivity to preventing fraud.

“It slows the process, but it’s absolutely necessary. With this temporary reprieve, now is the time to look at what other communities have done” to speed up the process, she added.

And here’s the thing. Foster, who also sits on the St. Petersburg City Council, brought up something that has bothered me in recent years. There is an online application to get rental assistance funds, as it was to get the initial coronavirus vaccine appointments. I think it’s a format that shows little regard for segments of the population that may lack the devices, WIFI or the technological skills to get the money they so desperately need.

“It makes it super inaccessible to them,” said Karla Correa, an organizer with the St. Petersburg Tenants Union with colleagues William Kilgore and David Decorte.

 The grassroots organization has been spreading word about rental assistance money available from the county. “We want to make sure that people know about this,” said Correa, a political science major at University of South Florida.

There’s some urgency to their mission. About one in 20 households faced eviction before the pandemic, according to the Homeless Leadership Alliance, which added that it’s difficult “to predict what post-pandemic rates will look like, since landlords are likely waiting for the end of the moratorium to file.”

Again, the question is, where will the displaced go? Rents are already high in St. Petersburg, said Correa, who lives downtown. “Once the rent goes up, it will be difficult for me to stay. Many people are constantly leaving. People have to find new places. Those places that working class people can live in are becoming few and far between.”

The 21-year-old noted that the county’s eviction crisis is most severe in St. Petersburg, in the 33705 and 33712 zip codes, where the majority of the city’s Black residents live. “The Black community is getting hit by the eviction crisis and by the pandemic. People are getting sick. People are losing their jobs. People are losing other types of income. People are suffering left and right and having to pay medical bills. And rents are going up.”

The Rev. Watson Haynes, president and CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League, agrees that Black people are bearing a disproportionate share of the pandemic-wrought crisis. “We always have a hammer without the nail,” he said. “While other races have been able to handle this, African Americans, we are the last in the barrel.”

Correa and members of the Tenants Union welcome the new eviction moratorium. “It definitely couldn’t have been won without pushback from the people,” she said, praising Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. – who had once been homeless as a young mother – for her well-publicized protest on behalf of the new moratorium.

“It’s really great to see people fighting back and it needs to be a mass movement,” she said. “We need back rent to be cancelled. Overall, though, it is a major victory in the fight for housing for all.”

Meanwhile, the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is dispatching people door-to-door to help tenants apply for the important rent assistance funds, Foster said. And last week, the Juvenile Welfare Board launched an effort to help families navigate the process, she said.

Maneuvering the system apparently requires skill and patience. Alex O’Connell, who is studying for a master’s degree in public health at USF, rents in the Old Northeast. She applied for the county’s emergency rental assistance in April and did not receive it until last week. That, she said, was after many phone calls and emails over the course of several months.

It was a frustrating experience. “They did not have locals working on it (and) not even in the same time zone,” she said. “I would prefer local people working on local issues. I would prefer those jobs are here … It was so excruciating.“

Frustration is not limited to tenants. Apartment associations and landlords, also facing pandemic-related financial burdens, are just as upset with the slow pace of rental assistance payments from Pinellas County.  They’ve reported that the state’s OUR Florida system is faster, Foster said. “We are six to 10 weeks for payment and landlords are getting frustrated and don’t want to wait that long,” she said.

Still, some money is getting out. “We just need that to happen faster,” Foster said. So far, Pinellas County has distributed $6.8 million to 958 households from the $21.4 million it received to establish its Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, Foster said. And the City of St. Petersburg has disbursed $3.8 million of its approximately $8 million to 397 households.   

It’s certainly good news that the pace of disbursements might be picking up. The new moratorium against evictions will not go on forever. Landlords have mounted legal challenges. Regardless, in coming weeks, thousands of families could be scrambling for a new place to live, or somewhere to take temporary shelter.

To view the full article, visit https://stpetecatalyst.com/a-moratorium-from-evictions-solves-some-problems-and-highlights-others/

Six years ago, the Tampa Bay Times published a Pulitzer prize-winning series entitled “Failure Factories,” exposing how elementary schools in south St. Petersburg were failing area children, and that’s when Bridgette Heller decided to do something about it.

Heller founded the Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation (SPFF) in honor of her late mother — a lifelong educator who implored those around her to “do something” to help improve education outcomes for children in the community.

In 2015, before the Times exposé, Heller started a pilot program with Girls Incorporated in the hopes of narrowing the achievement gap. After conducting focus groups and gathering data, she realized her mother’s hypothesis that African-American students in south St. Pete were falling far behind was correct.

Based on community feedback, Heller decided to start a summer program that focused on preventing the “summer slide.” As the program ended, the Times article was released. Heller said that justified and validated the data driving the concept. She said she realized they were on to something and providing an unmet need for an academically-based summer development program.

“There was just a lot of evidence coming out that summer that adding an academic core skills component was just huge in terms of need,” said Heller. “We had a unique sort of positioning in the community, and we felt like the need was really critical.”

Heller learned a lot from the pilot, and the Math-Art-Science-Technology-Reading (M.A.S.T.R) Kids summer program was born in 2016. After great success and a positive response from the community, the afterschool M.A.S.T.R. program launched in 2020.

Heller believed in the program so much that she and her husband funded it themselves for the first few years. After collecting enough data to show that the concept was viable and was improving learning deficiencies, they began to apply for funding.

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County is now their primary funder, responsible for 70 percent of the services they provide, while the United Way has been responsible for another 12 percent. The rest comes from smaller grants, and Heller credits the Pinellas Community Foundation and the City of St. Pete for helping when they were first getting started. She also praises Duke Energy and the Tampa Bay Rays – who recently presented SPPF with an equity award totaling $25,000.

“It’s just been terrific,” said Heller. “The momentum that we’ve built in the last year has been great.”

The momentum has been building because it is clear that M.A.S.T.R. Kids impacts children in the community. Academic Director Keisha Snead said that students’ progress is measured using interactive assessment and the instructional software i-Ready. More than that, she can see the progress every day.

Snead said the first thing she notices is the relationships students build with their teachers, allowing them to advocate for themselves when they get back into the traditional classroom. All the teachers at M.A.S.T.R. are certified through the county and lead small classes of between 12-14 kids with the aid of an assistant or two.

Educators design their literacy lesson plans with guidance from a well-researched, evidence-based core curriculum. They then incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math lessons (STEAM) to engage students while also enhancing and reinforcing skill development.

The next thing that Snead sees is the confidence level in students rising. Children are encouraged to ask questions, and with the small class sizes, more individual attention is given. Snead fondly recalls a child that came in as a non-reader. He applied himself through the program, and with the help of his parents, who are heavily involved, he has recently tested for the gifted program at his school.

“So, I’ve seen that it is truly making an impact,” said Snead emphatically.

Snead also proudly tells the story of a young lady going into the fourth grade who was a very limited reader. After working with her teachers, she wrote an essay completely by herself for the first time ever this summer.

“You can just see the growth,” said Snead. “We track and monitor their growth. We actually have data to back up what we’re doing.”

In addition to their core curriculum, M.A.S.T.R. Kids also incorporates extracurricular activities designed to foster personal growth and teach things not usually learned in a classroom. Considering last year’s civil unrest and with cases of police brutality dominating headlines, they designed classes meant to teach civics and social justice. Guest speakers came in to teach them about everything from civil rights to the proper way to handle encounters with the police.

Snead said the plan is to continue the classes throughout the school year, culminating in a field trip to Alabama over spring break. The idea is to see and experience historical sites from the Civil Rights Movement firsthand. Stops include the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the nearby museums. At the end of next summer, the goal is to take students to Washington, D.C.

“So, take it full circle,” said Snead, “where they see both aspects of what we’ve been teaching them.”

Every Friday over the summer, they also went on a local field trip. The James Museum for the Reverberations exhibit, a mural tour of downtown St. Pete, the Museum of Science and Industry, bowling, and skating are just some of the fun activities that children were able to experience.

While the M.A.S.T.R. Kids program has already been so successful that they now have two locations in south St. Petersburg, Snead would like to see further expansion into another facility. They currently serve 160 kids, from entering kindergarten to entering the ninth grade.

While the focus is on improving educational outcomes in Black students, the program is open to all. Unfortunately, keeping class sizes small is imperative, and they currently have a waiting list – another indicator of their success.

Heller and the M.A.S.T.R. Kids program looked beyond the “Failure Factory” statistics to the potential of the community, parents, and most importantly – the students. They are helping to close the achievement gap and are focused on academic enrichment that nurtures tomorrow’s leaders. They decided to “do something.”

“This program is not only teaching our children how to build character, but it’s building on the legacy of someone that who taught in the St. Petersburg school system,” said Snead. “She’s still impacting our children to this day.”

To view the full article, visit https://theweeklychallenger.com/success-factory-m-a-s-t-r-kids-programs-bring-potential-out-of-children/

As many of you know, being a parent is tough, especially after going through a pandemic for over a year and a half. The isolation alone can be quite overwhelming.

But a local organization can help if you have a small child acting out, and the services are free of charge and available throughout the summer.

“For us to remain calm with our children really helps to calm them down. So we really need to work on calming ourselves down before we can help our children calm down,” said Emily Chavie, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Supervisor of the Children’s Home Society of Florida’s Early Learning Center Support Team.

It’s a place that provides free, on-site counseling at 10 local daycares in Pinellas County, specifically for the early intervention of babies and toddlers.

“A lot of the counseling for the real young children looks more like play therapy techniques, engaging in social stories, helping them identify and express their feelings,” Chavie explained.

And just like the pandemic has affected parents, it’s also impacted little ones.

Even babies and toddlers can start to exhibit signs of stress, including biting, excessive tantrums, difficulty with attachment and more.

“Withdrawing behaviors, hitting their peers, screaming, yelling, not listening to their parents, not listening to their teachers, things like that,” explained Chavie.

So Chavie’s team of mental health professionals provides hope with free counseling and support to navigate the challenges of parenthood, especially if families are going through transitions.

“If there’s a death in the family, divorce, separation, even new teachers, like those things are really stressful for kids,” she said.

And Chavie recommends to all parents that you must put self-care at the top of your list, take deep breaths, go for a walk, and stay calm to be present and ultimately a better parent.

“You can’t do it if you’re not taking care of yourself. You just can’t be an effective parent. So that’s my biggest advice is it’s not selfish to take care of yourself,” she explained.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child in the free Early Learning Program, call 727-953-3354.

And if you need help right away, you can call or text The Family Support Warm Line at 1-888-SEE-ME-03 or 1-888-733-6303. From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., all texts are free and confidential.

For more information about the Juvenile Welfare Board, which funds the program, visit www.CHSFL.ORG or http://chsfl.org/support/.

To view the full article, visit https://www.abcactionnews.com/rebound/coronavirus-stress/local-organization-offers-free-early-intervention-services-for-children-in-need

Beth Houghton has blazed a trail for women leaders in St. Petersburg, while leading programs that have changed lives for families and children throughout the community.

Her accomplishments were recognized Thursday, when Mayor Rick Kriseman presented Houghton with the key to the city, an honor reserved for those who have had a tremendous impact in the community.

Houghton is CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, former CEO of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic and former chief financial officer and general counsel at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. She is vice chairman of the Moffitt Cancer Center institute board of director, and chairs the Moffitt hospital board.

She is former chairman of the board of Great Explorations, the Houghton-Wagman Children’s Museum in St. Petersburg, which is named in honor of a $1 million gift from Houghton and her husband, Scott Wagman.

“Her dedication to families, to children, to healthcare in general is truly unrivaled,” Kriseman said during a City Council meeting. “No list of super citizens would be complete without Miss Beth Houghton.”

Houghton was named CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board in 2019.

“Beth has been a strong advocate for children’s issues and underserved families, creating strategic partnerships and overseeing the funding of high quality programs that benefit hundreds of children and families in St. Petersburg,” Kriseman said. “Last year the city and JWB collectively invested $4.2 million into our teen programs. This investment allowed us to hire certified teachers and behavioral specialists to assist program participants in homework and  tutoring, academic goal setting, school projects, youth development activities and enrichment overlay programs during non-school hours and offer employment opportunities to high school youth. As a result of this partnership we have seen a consistent improvement in teen’s FSA Florida standardized assessment scores and decreased unexcused absences and suspension rates.”

She was CEO of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic from 2011 to 2019. Under her leadership, the organization expanded its reach and helped to provide food, shelter and healthcare to more than 55,000 people on a monthly basis, Kriseman said.

Houghton was in the C-suite of hospitals long before it was common for women to be in executive leadership, said Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, whose own professional background is in healthcare. Tomalin previously was a regional vice president at Health Management Associates, the former owner of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg.

“You’ve blazed so many trails and I feel fortunate to stand, I won’t say in the shadow of your greatness because there’s nothing about you that casts a shadow, I’ll say in the benefit of your light,” Tomalin said.

When people talk about women in leadership, Houghton is one of the first people that comes to mind for Council Vice Chair  Gina Driscoll.

“Your life and your work have inspired so many women including me and I thank you for that. You are someone that I look up to, that I admire and that I hope that as you move on to even more great things that you do, that I will find more ways I can help you,” Driscoll said. “Leaders like you don’t just look for people to follow you. You look to bring up other leaders with you.”

Houghton both inspires and motivates, said Council Chair Ed Montanari.

“Just your personality and the way you operate is like a force multiplier, we would say in the military, because you get so many people that have been with you and part of what you are leading on,” Montanari said. “You are a legend here in St. Petersburg, Beth, and thank you for leading. We need more people like you.”

Surrounded by her family in the City Council chambers, Houghton said it was her privilege to work with thousands of employees and volunteers.

“This is one of those few times you get to tell your children and grandchildren what community service is all about and that somebody actually cares about those long meetings and long phone calls,” she said.

To view the full article, visit https://stpetecatalyst.com/super-citizen-beth-houghton-changes-lives-blazes-trails-in-st-pete/

It’s not too early to get a jump on helping your kids prepare for the next school year, especially if you can avoid the cost of required school or sports physicals with some early planning.

The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County (DOH-Pinellas) is again offering its annual Back to School Clinics from June 28 to Aug. 10 at four of its clinics in area high schools. Students in grades kindergarten to 12 can get physicals, basic dental services, vision/hearing screenings and any needed immunizations—including COVID-19 shots—during the same visit. Services are not provided to students entering pre-kindergarten.

Basic dental services such as sealants, fluoride and assessments will be offered only during July 19-Aug. 10. As part of the vision screenings, students who qualify can receive exams and glasses courtesy of Preserve Vision Florida.

Screenings are provided by appointment only and the student must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please bring immunization and health records so that staff can update them.

To make an appointment, call 727-824-6900 menu option #4. The forms for services can be pre-filled and are found at the DOH-Pinellas website here: https://pinellas.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/clinical-and-nutrition-services/school-clinics/index.html.

These are the Back to School Clinics offering services this summer:

• Boca Ciega High School, 924 58th Ave. S., Gulfport
• Gibbs High School, 850 34th St. S., St. Petersburg
• Largo High School, 410 Missouri Ave., Largo
• Pinellas Park High School, 6305 118th Ave. N., Largo

The DOH-Pinellas school-based clinics are funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas.

For information about DOH-Pinellas, go to www.PinellasHealth.com or follow us on Twitter @HealthyPinellas.

To view the full article, visit http://pinellas.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2021/06/no-cost-physicals-and-screenings-to-get-students-ready-for-the-school-year.html

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is working with the Florida Department of Health and the Juvenile Welfare Board to offer a free Covid-19 vaccine at three Pinellas County schools. The free Pfizer vaccine will be administered to those 12 years old and older starting in late June. The vaccination will be available at the following locations from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.:

• Largo High School: First dose June 22, second dose July 13
• Gibbs High School: First dose June 23, second dose July 14
• Pinellas Park High School: First dose June 24, second dose July 15

Appointments must be made in advanced. Those interested should call 727-824-6931. Minors must be accompanied by their legal guardian.

To view the full article, visit https://stpetecatalyst.com/zaps/johns-hopkins-to-offer-pfizer-vaccine-at-pinellas-county-schools/

Two science and tech educators are currently accepting youth participants for their first science competition and exhibition, “22 Innovative Ideas.” The nonprofit Shaping the Early Mind, founded by husband-and-wife team Marquis and Shai’Robia Davis, will hold the exhibition in collaboration with the Sankofa Science initiative on May 22, from noon to 4 p.m. on 22nd Street and 9th Avenue South.

The Davises started Shaping the Early Mind (STEM) in 2017 with the mission of providing access to, encouragement in, and engagement with technology education for all.

A PRIDE award-winning scholar in elementary school science who received the Juvenile Welfare Board’s H. Browning Spence Education Award, Shai’Robia Davis said that as a foster child she had gone to as many as 17 schools by the time she graduated high school.

Her experiences helped her understand the struggle of youth who may enjoy subjects like math and science but are not being given the support and encouragement to continue pursuing their passion for those subjects.

“I am a former foster youth, a Black woman, and I’ve just never been encouraged to pursue a career in science, even though that’s the subject I’ve always excelled in,” she shared.

Davis said after she had her first child, her penchant for researching health and science topics such as childhood vaccinations led her to ask herself why she wasn’t studying science — especially since she realized: “I could really see myself doing research, long term.” She returned to school, beginning to wonder “if other people aren’t pursuing these subjects because they’re facing some of the same challenges that I am.”

While working as a Career and Education Specialist for the nonprofit Ready for Life, Davis recalled that when asking countless Black youths what their plans were after high school, many of the males would respond: “Well, maybe I’ll play football, since I’m not good at basketball.” Davis wondered who told them that those were their only options.

Later, while considering an education degree at St. Petersburg College, Davis was completing required observation hours in a fifth-grade classroom. “Again, I’m asking kids, ‘What do you want to do, what do you want to be when you grow up?’” She remembered one child saying he would probably play basketball since he didn’t like football. But, when Davis asked him what his favorite subject was, he replied, “science.”

“So, you’ve never thought about a career in science?” Davis inquired. The child responded, “What do you mean?” Realizing the student had probably never thought of a career in science, she went home, did some research, and compiled a list of athletes who had degrees in various fields of study.

The next day she brought that list of names to the student, not convinced he would think much of it. But instead, “He took it, and he glued it in his take-home notebook, so he could keep it. Hopefully, that encouraged him to think about some other career,” she mused.

The 22 Innovative Ideas science competition and exhibition is open to youth residing in Pinellas County who meet at least one of the following criteria: be aged 6 to 14, identify as BIPOC, are in the foster care system, or have a permanent impairment.

While grades came easily to Davis, today she acknowledges that she’s not “a big school advocate.” Being a foster child meant not only a dizzying number of different schools but sometimes not attending school at all.

“I remember being out for like two months at a time, and I’d always come back and still be on track, excelling in my classes.”

Davis said she looks back at that time and wonders what they were teaching if she was one of the top students and not being in class for months at a time.

“So, I don’t feel like learning happens solely in the classroom.”

This belief and the desire to challenge the stereotypes people hold about what STEM educators look like are two more reasons the Davises started Shaping the Early Mind.

“What’s happening at home and in the community is also teaching the kids and making a huge impact on their lives as well — that’s why we want to bring the learning into their spaces and not just into the schools,” she noted.

Davis said both she and her husband, who has a degree in a technology field, have experienced “obstacles” and felt people’s skepticism when they meet them.

“When we walk in the room, we’ve both felt people [respond] like, ‘Oh, you’re here to do something else,’” Davis relayed. “We want to change the face of STEM for our kids so that they know ‘you belong here.’”

Currently employed as a complex specimen processor in a microbiology laboratory and pursuing a bachelor’s in Biomedical Science at the University of South Florida, Davis plans to take the Florida teacher’s certification exam. But she wants children to know that even without a high school diploma, they can participate in innovation.

“We want them to know — use your creativity, use your resources, and just go for it.”

Shai’Robia Davis, director of education

STEM has done pop-up workshops in Campbell Park and currently are running a virtual stem program. They also shoot tech videos with youth and encourage parents of children interested in being featured in the tech videos to contact them.

The 22 Innovative Ideas science competition and exhibition is open to youth residing in Pinellas County who meet at least one of the following criteria: be aged 6 to 14, identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), are in the foster care system, or have a permanent impairment.

For more information, contact Sha’Robia and Marquis Davis at 727-685-6432 or email shapingtheearlymind@gmail.com. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

To view the full article, visit https://theweeklychallenger.com/tech-educators-host-22-innovative-ideas-science-exhibition-on-the-deuces/.

State lawmakers agreed Friday night to spend $50 million on a new courthouse in Pinellas County named after former State Attorney Bernie McCabe.

The new site of the 2nd District Court of Appeal would be called the Bernie McCabe Courthouse in honor of the late Pinellas-Pasco state attorney, who died in January after serving as the area’s top prosecutor for nearly three decades.

Both the location and the name of the courthouse were a top priority of House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, a former prosecutor who worked for McCabe. He spoke in support for a Pinellas courthouse named after his former boss a week after his passing.

But Sprowls’ priority clashed with that of another powerful Republican lawmaker: Senate Appropriations Chair Kelli Stargel, who wanted the new courthouse built in her hometown of Lakeland, the official headquarters for the court district. Stargel’s husband was appointed as a judge for the district by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.

In a statement Saturday, Sprowls applauded Stargel and hinted that her hometown could still benefit from the plan.

“This is step one in a multi-year plan to address the unique needs of the area that now comprises the 2nd (District Court of Appeal),” Sprowls said, referring to Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Hardee, Highlands, Polk, DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Glades, Collier, Hendry and Lee counties. “Senator Stargel has always been a staunch advocate for Polk County, and her long-term vision for addressing the juridical needs of the area will be realized.”

The exact location of the Bernie McCabe Courthouse has yet to be determined. The agreement lawmakers reached on Friday requires the site to be on state or local land. If that isn’t available, the courts would work with the state to find another location in Pinellas County.

Lakeland is the official site in state law for the sprawling district, which handles trial court appeals from Pasco County to Naples and as far east as Lake Okeechobee.

However, the majority of the court’s cases, judges, employees and attorneys are from Tampa Bay, and studies have recommended the new courthouse be built in Hillsborough or Pinellas counties.

Stargel said last month she wanted the new courthouse built in Lakeland in part because her hometown’s legal community has been shrinking since 1980, when the 2nd District Court of Appeal started renting space in Tampa to handle the area’s growing caseload.

The court’s cases are now being held in rented classroom space near downtown Tampa, a site that doesn’t have bulletproof windows. The crumbling, mold-infested Lakeland courthouse has been uninhabitable since 2016.

Last year, lawmakers approved $21 million for a new courthouse in St. Petersburg, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it along with $1 billion in other projects.

When Stargel allotted $50 million for a new courthouse in Lakeland last month, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, objected. Requiring the majority of people who use the court to commute 35 miles east to Lakeland each day would be a “significant disruption,” he said.

Brandes said senators were placing the courthouse in Lakeland simply “because we can,” something that Stargel said gave her “great offense.”

“I’m not doing this just because I can,” Stargel said during a Senate committee meeting last month. “I think it’s appropriate for my community.”

McCabe was a giant in Tampa Bay’s legal and political community, where he was known as a mentor to young lawyers, a whip-smart litigator and an advocate for crime victims, police officers and children. He served for 20 years on the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board and was one of the first state attorneys in Florida to start drug and veterans’ treatment courts.

After his death, Sprowls wrote to county commissioners asking they rename the Pinellas County Justice Center, where prosecutors and public defenders have offices, after McCabe.

McCabe “left an unrivaled legacy in the pantheon of Florida justice seekers,” Sprowls wrote.

To view the full news article, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/04/24/state-lawmakers-agree-on-new-bernie-mccabe-courthouse-in-pinellas-county/.

As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, JWB Community Planning Manager Yaridis Garcia was recently featured in a statewide podcast with Prevent Child Abuse Florida and the Ounce of Prevention, spotlighting the 2021 Child Abuse Prevention Conference, JWB’s Neighborhood Family Centers, and our work in the area of strengthening and supporting families to prevent child abuse and neglect.  To learn more about JWB’s work to prevent child abuse and neglect, and strengthen communities visit www.jwbpinellas.org.

Listen to the podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1653430/8296601

Chan Heng was attending a flea market in Pinellas Park last week when he saw a booth advertising appointments for the coronavirus vaccine at the Lealman and Asian Neighborhood Family Center.

So the 54-year-old St. Petersburg resident signed up. It was so much easier than trying to do it online, he said.

He was one of about 300 people vaccinated at the center Saturday. It serves the Lealman area and many immigrant residents, like Heng, who moved to the United States from Cambodia in 1982. The staff even translated for patients.

“This is very convenient,” Heng said.

It is one of many clinics across the Tampa Bay region whose mission is getting vaccines to underserved communities. While the state is allowing all residents 16 and older to get vaccinated starting today, some Floridians still face obstacles. Low-income and migrant residents can lack transportation and face language barriers.

Florida’s residency requirement has raised concerns about vaccine access for migrant workers, the undocumented and those experiencing homelessness. Immigration advocates recently called for an end to the requirement, saying it excludes undocumented immigrants, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Florida Department of Health says a state-issued ID is needed to receive a vaccine. Seasonal residents may present two forms of identification, such as a deed, mortgage or lease, a utility bill or mail from the government or a bank.

Florida Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Samantha Bequer said health officials can also accept other proof of residency at their discretion, such as a letter from an employer or landlord, or a spouse’s proof of residency along with proof of marriage.

But for those who struggle with such documents and requirements, a patchwork vaccination effort has sprung up across the Tampa Bay region. Advocacy groups, health departments and vaccination sites started serving communities that otherwise might be excluded.

Redlands Christian Migrant Association health advocate Noe Bautista helped organize a clinic that distributed vaccines to migrant farm workers in Mulberry. The clinic received 400 doses of vaccines including both the first and second doses of Pfizer vaccines. The first round was administered March 20.

“The first barrier is the lack of vaccines,” Bautista said. “They don’t have access.”

The registration and identification process was simple, Bautista said. Organizers asked for workers’ names, date of birth, phone numbers and town where they live. Bautista also helped translate information into Mixtec, the language of the indigenous Mexican farmworkers he works with.

Clearwater’s Hispanic Outreach Center offered the first dose of coronavirus vaccines to community members at the end of February and the second doses were distributed at the end of March. In total, the staff fully vaccinated 244 people. CEO Jaclyn Boland said the next clinic, scheduled for April 10, is almost fully booked.

The center asks participants to bring a photo ID and proof of residency. But Boland said they’re also accepting items such as foreign passports for those who don’t have state-issued identification. For those who do not have their own bills or bank statements, proof of residency from someone they share a home with is acceptable, along with a statement from that person affirming they live together.

“Really, we haven’t found many people having an issue with that part,” Boland said.

Dr. Nichelle Threadgill, chief medical officer at Community Health Centers of Pinellas, Inc., said its clinics have tried to offer flexibility to patients and those who visit pop-up clinics, whose times are listed online. Threadgill said the site accepts any form of identification that the Department of Motor Vehicles would accept. Many patients often share homes with relatives, so proof of residency from someone with whom the patient lives is also acceptable.

“We try not to be restrictive at all,” Threadgill said.

Local groups are also working to ensure vaccine access for those experiencing homelessness across Tampa Bay. As of March 29, the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County said it had vaccinated 344 patients at local homeless shelters. Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas CEO Amy Foster said local sites serving the homeless have been accepting county blue cards — which give them access to the county health system — as a form of identification.

“We’re excited that eligibility has been expanded and we’ll be able to get more folks vaccinated shortly,” she said.

In Hillsborough County, emergency management has worked with community groups to ensure access for undocumented and homeless residents who might otherwise struggle to get vaccinated. Metropolitan Ministries and Feeding Tampa Bay have also hosted vaccination sites.

Tampa Bay Street Medicine has worked to distribute 93 vaccine doses to its patients, many of whom are experiencing homelessness. Most recently, it distributed the first dose of vaccines to patients at the beginning of March, said clinic co-director Jacob Wasserman.

The organization also administered doses of the Pfizer vaccine in February and 95 percent of patients returned for their second dose, he said.

“I think that the reason for that is the fact that we’ve cultivated a true relationship with our patients over the course of many years,” Wasserman said. “I just took it as a really cool sign.”

Read the full story by Tampa Bay Times at https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=113c2e5d6