LAKELAND, Fla. — Jeremy Mockabee, who co-captains the Salvation Army Lakeland/W. Polk County, with his wife, sees both the bad and the good.
He sees homeless families at rock bottom. He also sees how their lives are transformed at Salvation Army’s Community of Hope, a sprawling emergency shelter just north of I-4 off Kathleen Rd.
“We’re called the George W. Jenkins Salvation Army Community of Hope. Community of Hope,” he said. “And that’s what we want to offer here. Hope in a situation that otherwise seems like chaos. And some of these people are coming in at rock bottom. They are absolutely at their wit’s end, and for us just to be able to give some sense of hope in a very difficult situation, we’re just blessed to be able to do.”
But right now, there is chaos. Higher prices and a lack of affordable housing mean homelessness is on the rise in West Polk County, and according to Mockabee, even some families that have employment are becoming homeless.
“In Polk County, right now, we just found out that the average two bedroom apartment — in order to move in — to pay first month’s, last month’s, and of the fees associated with moving in — the average cost for someone, an individual to get in a two-bedroom apartment is $6,000. So listen, even if you’re doing everything right, that’s tough to manage,” Mockabee said.
He started seeing the signs a couple of years ago.
“What we saw was this tsunami of need — of new people needing housing, needing help and financial assistance — whatever that may be,” he said.
The emergency shelter he helps command is unique. The Community of Hope shelter provides rooms to homeless families with children, a free daycare facility for those children, and transitional housing.
“It’s very unique that we take entire families, and we don’t split them up. It’s not dormitory-style housing,” he explained. “Each room can hold up to about five or six in a family.”
Currently, however, demand is outstripping supply.
“Right now, I can tell you — on average — for the last six months, our shelter has been completely full. Every day has been completely full,” Mockabee said. “We are turning down, on average, about 11 to 12 families a day.”
However, a solution is in the works. Soon, a palette of cinder blocks behind the current shelter will become an expansion that adds 20 new rooms to the Community of Hope.
“What we’re doing is we’re taking what we already know works, and we’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re just bulking it up a little bit. We’re just enhancing what we’re already doing,” he said. “So, we’re doubling the amount of rooms that we have for families to stay in.”
Mockabee admits the additional rooms won’t solve homelessness in West Polk County, but they will provide more families with hope.
“For us just to be able to give some sense of hope in a very difficult situation, we’re just blessed to be able to do,” he said. “Seeing the kids here — our greatest asset — seeing their lives change, seeing them in community with other kids and other adults has been absolutely just an incredible opportunity.”
The Salvation Army Lakeland/W. Polk County will break ground on the expansion project at 9 a.m. Thursday. Mockabee estimates that construction should take about eight to 10 months.
Learn more about how you can support the Salvation Army Lakeland/W. Polk County at this link.