By Brian Nelson
Neighbors, as we ease into the Holiday Season, our thoughts turn to helping the less fortunate in our community. In 5 years, I’ve seen the enormous strides the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County has achieved to help homeless families rebuild and get a second chance in life.
Now, the reason I’m writing: the Homeless Coalition recently committed to constructing 16 additional new homes to meet the housing crisis in St. Johns County. The goal is to accommodate more at-risk families with children, taking them off the streets, out of the woods and their cars, and offering them housing they can afford and social services they need. Please take a moment to read further, and consider if this might be a charity you and your family would want to support.
Thank you, and Happy Holidays. Brian Nelson
What is the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County?
One year after its charter in 1998, the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County opened its first single family home for the local homeless population. Today, it has 24 homes, each offering a new start to families in crisis otherwise headed to the streets, cars, or woods in search of shelter.
The critical scarcity of affordable housing in St. Johns County is worsening the homeless crisis. In St. Johns County there is:
- Too much demand … too little supply.
- Sky-high rents and housing prices.
- Evictions “… at highest level in at least seven years”. * *University of Florida / Jacksonville Today 09-04-2026
Yes, this is a capital fundraising drive.
The Homeless Coalition is answering the affordable housing needs with a commitment to construct 16 additional new affordable homes on property it already owns adjacent to its Chapin St. campus. The first doors would open in 2028.
This is a $5-million effort.
THE CRITICAL STEP is finding the initial $1 million commitment in seed money for the site work, which can then trigger larger government grants and donations. The path to completion runs through the “$1000 X 1000” fundraising campaign.
The Coalition needs just 1000 local donors willing to fund the first big step to serve as proof of community ownership to potential government and deep-pocket donors. The sooner the $5 million is attained, the sooner the project’s completion. The goal is to open the first doors in 2028.
WILL MY DONATION BE WELL-SPENT?
Yes! The Coalition leadership’s cautious approach to expansion includes, among other policies, an historical aversion to traditional debt (eg. loans and mortgages) that might put its charitable work at risk.
Here are a couple of important points about fiscal prudence and operational effectiveness for you to consider in your decision:
- First, the families renting on the Homeleess Coalition campus must work. These families pay rents that currently cover over 31% of the organization’s operating budget. The residents are invested in their own future, underscoring the mission of helping distressed families help themselves. The approach is a “hand-up”, not a handout. And it works. Almost without exception, when residents leave the program, they are able to move into their own apartments.
- Secondly, since 2017 the Homeless Coalition successfully completed every major infrastructure project needed to support future growth, including new homes, storage facilities, a laundry building, a maintenance building, and a just-completed Support Services Expansion building. No debt.
PERSONAL SUCCESS STORIES
AMBER
In 2007, a homeless mother and her two children came to live in the house at the end of Chapin Street. One daughter, Amber, was a fixture at the picnic tables every day after-school for tutoring and play time. This, she says, was the first time she saw her mom really happy – the family had found the stability, support, and opportunity needed to build a new future. That new future showed up in the Coalition’s offices 19 years later. Like every non-profit organization, the Homeless Coalition must undergo an annual independent financial audit. And this year, 2026, the accountant sent to us was Amber Danes, the same young girl who hung around our picnic table eager to be tutored. She grew up and got her master’s degree in accounting at FSU, joined a large national accounting firm and is now the accountant conducting our annual audit.
Jane (Fictitious name)
In August 2025, Jane and her son were sleeping in their car. On August 8, 2026, Jane applied to become a St. Johns County Deputy Sheriff. Let’s hear what happened in her own words:
“… the Homeless Coalition has been such an important part of my journey. I know I would not be where I am today without the love, support, encouragement, and resources you have both provided during this season of my life. Less than a year ago, my son and I were sleeping in our car. Today, I am looking toward a completely different future, and I don’t take that for granted. The Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County has been part of my journey. Through this experience, I have seen something that has deeply affected me: what happens when a community chooses to help a person rebuild rather than define that person by where they are in a difficult season.”
BRENDA (Fictitious name)
A mom who came from the women’s sober house and moved into our Transitional Housing and reunited with her two daughters. After recovering from her addiction, she began working at a private school as a teacher’s assistant. This mom participated in all of our programs, repaired her credit, went to all of her kids sporting events and had a great and thankful attitude. She has now been in her job for three years, met a great guy, and together built a new home and a new life.
Supporting Data
From 2013-2023:
- 6,350 homeless and low-income people sought support
- 37,297 food bags were distributed
- 767 parents and children received housing assistance (average 3 year stay)
- 84% remained stably housed and self-sufficient in the program
- 82% maintained or increased their income in the program
Learn more about the Homeless Coalition, including its financials, click this link: https://homelesscoalitionstjohns.com/about/.
The Ask
This Thanksgiving season, please consider a generous tax-deductible donation.
You can scan the above QR code, or click below to make a tax-deductible DONATION:
https://homelesscoalitionstjohns.com/1000by1000/
To request a tour of the campus at 64 Chapin St, contact: Debi Redding at debi@homelesscoalitionstjohns.com
