THE SPRING OF TAMPA BAY INC

Residential Programs (Emergency Shelter, Peace Village Apartments, Scattered Site Housing)The Spring exists to keep victims of domestic violence safe. Our emergency residential shelter consists of 24 bedrooms with 128 beds, plus a full-service dining hall and a large multipurpose room for groups/classes, all designed to provide a home-like refuge for adults & children in danger. In FY24/25, The Spring provided safe emergency shelter to 806 people (379 adults & 427 children). Continued on Schedule O. From our shelter, we operate a 24/7 crisis hotline to answer questions, provide safety planning, and connect victims to services with us & other community partners. Last year we answered 5,157 crisis calls on this hotline (8,582 calls in total) and 18 text/chat inquiries from survivors. At the shelter, resident children from 6 weeks old through 5th grade have access to onsite kids' programs in our school complex, including daycare for infants/toddlers/preschoolers, an elementary school run by Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), and kids of all ages have access to afterschool educational groups & activities run by our children's advocates. Adults in the shelter can participate in educational groups and one-on-one coaching that build financial literacy, job skills, & life skills through our Economic Empowerment program. Adults & teens can also learn tips on health and wellness and be connected to free medical and dental providers. Family pets are brought to the shelter and then kept safe through community relationships forged by the pet program. In partnership with the Clerk of the Circuit Court & the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, deputized advocates can assist victims with filing injunctions for protection directly from the safety of the shelter. Last year, deputized shelter advocates assisted in filing 56 injunctions.In our Peace Village apartment complex, survivors have opportunities for a longer stay with us. When a domestic violence survivor is financially self-sufficient, her ability to be safe & move on with her life increases exponentially. The Spring's Peace Village program helps survivors become self-sufficient through generous support from Catholic Charities & the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. Our secure complex is supervised by a director and an advocate and provides up to one year of affordable housing to participants who are working and building their financial security or are enrolled in post-secondary education or job training programs to become self-sufficient. Our team provides support groups, one-on-one advocacy & additional programs designed to help survivors & their children thrive. Potlucks, picnics, field trips & other informal gatherings all build a sense of community for these families. In FY24/25, The Spring served 62 people (23 adults & 39 children) in this 12-unit complex.The Spring's Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program is the third service within residential programs and is possible through support from the Tampa/Hillsborough Homeless Initiative (THHI). The Spring provides case management through RRH advocates who work with each survivor to identify a permanent housing unit (i.e. scattered site apartment or house) that meets their needs; is located near their social supports, school, work and childcare; and is affordable for them both while they receive 12-18 months of rental/financial assistance from The Spring and after they exit our RRH program and are expected to pay rent on their own. Their assigned RRH advocate connects with each survivor monthly and will provide as much or as little support as the survivor desires throughout their participation in the program. In FY24/25, The Spring served 231 people (74 adults & 157 children) through the Rapid Rehousing program.The final program within residential programs, Supportive Housing, is made possible by new, multi-year funding from the Florida Department of Children & Families that enables advocates at The Spring to provide short-term rental assistance and move-in costs to help stabilize families fleeing domestic violence who have some financial resources but need a hand up. In FY24/25 The Spring used these Supportive Housing dollars to directly assist 177 survivors (124 adults & 53 children) with the costs associated with moving into safe housing.

Outreach Services CentersMany domestic violence victims/survivors don't want to enter a shelter to access services, so keeping them safe outside of the shelter is the responsibility of our two Outreach Services Centers. Using two locations in Tampa and Plant City, and with generous support from the Children's Board of Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, we provide safety planning, support groups, referrals for services, supportive and educational counseling, and advocacy on their behalf. Continued on Schedule O.In partnership with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation, deputized outreach advocates assist with filing injunctions for protection from the safety of our outreach office, and last year assisted survivors in filing 40 injunctions, 80% of which were temporarily granted by a judge. Additionally, two specialized advocates work with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Tampa Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies to increase victim safety in potentially lethal cases and two specialized advocates are co-located with child protection investigations and child welfare case management agencies to advocate for victims when their children are part of the child welfare system. Also located in outreach, our prevention team works extensively with young people in schools and community organizations to prevent teen dating violence and promote healthy relationships. The team also works proactively with teens and pre-teens who have been arrested for domestic violence offenses and, separately, runs our affiliate of the Camp HOPE America sleepaway camp and year-round mentoring program. In FY24/25, our outreach advocates provided face-to-face assistance (either in-person or via remote video platform) to 1,082 survivors of domestic violence (1,053 adults & 29 children).