A clothing giveaway, pancake breakfast and raffle at Catholic Charities’ Tampa Hope site have offered practical support to about 200 people working to leave homelessness behind.
The event was held on Saturday, 5 September, at the organisation’s East Tampa site on East 3rd Avenue, where residents were able to collect clothes and hygiene items while being connected with services intended to help them move towards stable housing.
For Odell Reyes, the programme has marked a significant change after three years living on the streets. He has spent the past month at Tampa Hope, is now sober and is preparing to move into full-time accommodation with his wife, Stephanie Bennett.
“They definitely, they got me to where I was stable mentally, physically,” Reyes said.
Support for Tampa Hope residents
John Pessano, who is known locally as “The Blanket Guy”, organised the clothing drive. He said providing basic necessities could allow people to focus on finding work and rebuilding their lives.
“I’d rather them get clothes and worry about something else and try to get off the street and start working,” he said.
Brandy Edwards, a Tampa Hope resident, said a lack of transport and income could make everyday tasks difficult for people experiencing homelessness.
“Things like this help us feel normal to actually get back into a normal, productive life,” she said. “And when we feel like we’re human, we act human.”
Bennett said she had made more progress during her first four weeks at Tampa Hope than in the previous 11 years of homelessness. She said she had received mental health support and was working towards securing an apartment.
“It is very, very important that you have people for support because, with no support, then you don’t have any motivation,” she said.
Tampa Hope provides a route towards housing
Catholic Charities says Tampa Hope is designed to offer more than emergency shelter, with residents able to access meals, clothing, health services, counselling, employment support and assistance with housing.
The programme opened in December 2021 in partnership with the City of Tampa. City figures released in September 2025 said it had served more than 1,550 people and helped 563 move into housing.
Matthew Duffy, of Catholic Charities, said the aim was to help residents develop a sense of stability and self-worth rather than simply provide short-term assistance.
“It’s not about just kicking the can down the road,” he said. “It’s about building up an identity.”
Edwards said her faith was an important part of that identity. She chose clothes from the giveaway that she felt were suitable for attending church.
“The Lord has been good to me,” she said, “and I want to make sure that I show my appreciation by the way I dress.”
The Tampa-Hillsborough Homeless Initiative’s latest point-in-time count recorded 1,761 people experiencing homelessness across the county in 2026, compared with 2,040 in 2023. The count, conducted on 26 February, included people living in shelters as well as those without accommodation.
