HOPE 50 DECEMBER 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition While many South Florida families will gather around warm tables this Christmas, countless parents and children will spend the holiday in shelters, cars or temporary housing. That reality sits heavy with me this season. It is a reality HOPE sees in our work every day, and it is why this month matters so much. Julia’s story Let me tell you about Julia, a mother we walked alongside this year. After a fractured marriage and sudden instability, she and her young son found themselves without a safe place to call home. For six weeks they lived in a shelter, sharing a small room with another family. Every night Julia tucked her son into a borrowed bed and prayed he would feel safe. She was working, budgeting and doing everything she could, but what she and her son needed most — a home — was just out of reach. Miraculously, she found a unit but could not afford it. When Julia came to HOPE, our team stepped in immediately — assisting with rent, walking her through the transition, and helping her build a real budget. But what she remembers most wasn’t the financial help — it was the people. Her family advocates walked with her month after month as she rebuilt her life. Members of our leadership team knelt to speak to her son at eye level and made him laugh again. Our staff reminded her she wasn’t alone. “It became an extended family,” Julia told us. “For the first time, I felt seen.” A safe home didn’t erase Julia’s challenges, but it made healing possible. Today she is completing her Master of Social Work, determined to help other families through the same hardships she overcame. Stories like Julia’s are why our work is so crucial. Situational homelessness can happen to families who were stable just months earlier — a job loss, medical crisis, separation or rent spike can send them into a downward spiral faster than most people realize. And once a family loses housing, everything becomes harder. Children fall behind academically, routines collapse and parents carry the quiet shame of not being able to provide what every child deserves: safety, predictability and rest. The growing need This season we also face a sobering statistic. With the rising cost of living, the crisis of family homelessness in South Florida is growing, and each year we meet more parents who never imagined they would be in this position. Hundreds, and in some measures thousands, of our neighbors in Broward County will not have a place to call home this Christmas. A Christmas story Home matters. At Christmas, we feel that truth more deeply. Scripture tells us that when Christ came into the world, He entered a story much like our neighbors experiencing homelessness, marked by displacement and uncertainty. The Savior of the world was born in a borrowed space because there was “no room for them in the inn.” And yet, in that humble setting, God’s presence brought hope, dignity and new beginnings. That is the heart of HOPE South Florida’s mission: to make room for families who have nowhere to go, and to walk with them until they are home again. In a moment of crisis, we are able to change futures. We provide housing assistance that creates stability, a supportive community that provides consistent support, and thoughtful gifts that bring joy to children who have already lost so much. We walk alongside parents as they rebuild, offering careful and compassionate advocacy, and access to resources that reduce the chance of returning to homelessness. This Christmas, I invite you to join me in praying for the parents and children who will not be home for the holidays. Pray for protection, peace and pathways to stability. Pray for the staff and volunteers who serve them daily. And as you are able, I ask you to consider making a year-end gift that helps a family move from crisis into safe, stable housing. Your generosity provides resources, emergency shelter options, rental assistance, and the steady support families need to rebuild. Will you make room? As we look toward 2026, may we be a community that makes room — just as Christ made room for us. I know this is a truth my wife, son and I will reflect on this season. On behalf of the families we serve, thank you for standing with HOPE South Florida. In a season of giving and remembrance, your compassion changes lives. Please visit hopesouthflorida.org to learn how to give, volunteer, or organize a holiday drive. Celebrating 30 years of impact, HOPE South Florida exists to be a HOPE-filled community—keeping families together, offering compassionate care, and guiding them toward holistic life change. Under the leadership of President Joseph D. Kenner, we remain committed to ending family homelessness in Broward County by building communities that empower families to become resilient and independent. For more information visit HOPESouthFlorida.org - Joseph D. Kenner - President, HOPE South Florida A Place to Call Home: Restoring Dignity This Christmas
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