$19.5 million Salvation Army expansion to help with ‘tsunami of need’ in Polk County
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Salvation Army in Polk County is expanding to help meet a growing need.
It is not getting any easier to keep up with inflation and the rising price of almost everything.
As a result, some people are now struggling with something they never thought they would experience, homelessness.
A woman who wants to keep her identity low-profile that we’re calling Katherine, ended up at the Salvation Army’s George W. Jenkins Community of Hope after her family business went under during COVID-19.
"It was a blessing," she told FOX 13. "We didn’t know where to go, and what to do."
The homelessness problem is getting so big, that the captain of the Salvation Army of West Polk County says there is a "tsunami of need," that far outpaces the help that’s now available.
A rendering shows what the $19.5 million expansion project will look like.
He said when the eviction moratorium was lifted last year, things quickly got more concerning.
"I would say over the last and a half or two months, we have probably been turning away from eight to eleven families every day," stated Captain Jeremy Mockabee.
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That is expected to change because of a planned $19.5 million expansion that will double the housing capacity at the Community of Hope.
The Salvation Army officially broke ground on the project Thursday.
The $19.5 million expansion that will double the housing capacity at the Community of Hope.
The expansion will include more shelter space, triplexes, and single-family homes. They are also building a new community center with a gymnasium, classrooms, a computer lab, administrative offices and a worship center.
The shelter rooms are expected to be complete within a year or so. The entire project is scheduled to be done within five years.
"We are so excited to have their expansion," Capt. Mockabee told FOX 13. Is it going to be a silver bullet? No! But, it is a really nice step in the right direction for us," he said.