Resurrection House poised for new era

The program for homeless families will soon break ground on a new $2.7-million facility made possible only through private donations and churches.

By LENNIE BENNETT

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- By faith it began and by faith, its leaders say, it will grow.

Resurrection House is a small but comprehensive program for homeless families that started in 1988 with little more than a dilapidated apartment building and the good intentions of a collective of downtown churches.

The agency is now poised to break ground on a $2.7-million facility for which $2.2-million has already been raised.

The two-story building will be located at 1111 Seventh Ave. N and will have up to 20 two-bedroom apartments, plus offices, classroom, meeting room and chapel. Six of the seven lots on which it will sit are leased from nearby St. Anthony's Hospital for $1 a year. The hospital has a similar arrangement with other social service agencies. (See accompanying story.)

Resurrection House recently purchased an adjacent lot that will allow the facility to expand.

The fundraising success of the small agency in just one year is remarkable, especially since it has been done quietly, through internal contacts, with a public campaign still to be launched.

"I just knew it could be done," says Cynthia Sinclair, president and chief operating officer. "And the board agreed."

She says that when she assumed the job three years ago, the board of directors took a huge leap of faith in committing to a new building, having no money on hand for it. Even more challenging was the decision that year, at her insistence, to eschew all government funding.

"That was one of my conditions for accepting the job," she says.

"As a Christian-based program, I felt it was important not to be constricted by federal guidelines. It was time to demonstrate our own self-sufficiency."

Self-sufficiency is the cornerstone of the Resurrection House program, not housing, says Sinclair.

"We tell families that if they are just looking for a place to live, they won't succeed here."

Families selected through a rigorous screening process are typically a mother in her mid-20s or early 30s with one or two children. She usually arrives broke, jobless and always homeless.

What they all must have, Sinclair says, is a willingness to admit responsibility for their lives and the commitment to establish and stick to a plan that will allow them to become independent within two years.

Families live rent-free in furnished, two-bedroom apartments. They are required either to work or to go to school 40 hours a week, attend life skills and parenting classes, maintain a savings account, keep their apartment clean and volunteer at Resurrection House, doing anything from helping care for residents' children to yard maintenance.

They meet at least once a week with a case manager and a counselor. They go on "field trips" to become registered voters and learn how to use the public library.

"I tell them that all we can do is open doors for them," Sinclair says. "They do the hard work. And it is very hard to change your life."

Also required is a "spiritual journey" class once a month. It is taught by volunteers from St. Thomas Episcopal Church but the class is non-denominational, Sinclair says. "We honor our Christian foundation," she says, "but this is not an in-your-face Christian class. It's an exploration of the idea of faith in their lives."

Sinclair says that 85 percent of the families -- "A very high rate of success," she says -- leave Resurrection House with their lives on track, with jobs and savings accounts.

The current facility is the original apartment building in the Uptown neighborhood that has been remodeled and stands out as one of the most attractive buildings on its block. It houses eight families.

The board of directors and Sinclair raise about $200,000 every year for the operating budget through its major fundraiser, a breakfast that is attended by several hundred supporters who make pledges. Sixty percent of the contributions are made by individuals.

The building fund has been a separate effort, aided by a few hefty contributions that include $165,000 from the Baynard Family Trust, $80,000 from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, the church that founded Resurrection House, $25,000 from First Baptist Church and $1.5-million from a donor Sinclair said wished only to be identified as the Eagle's Wing Foundation. State corporate records list William Morean, chief operating officer of Jabil Circuits, his wife, Kelly, and mother, Audrey Petersen, as directors of the foundation.

Sinclair says that she expects the new building to be completed by summer 2001. She doesn't know if Resurrection House will be able to afford to keep the current apartment building as well, though she hopes it will be possible because "there is no end to the need."

She has a clear vision for the new location.

"My vision is to change that neighborhood," she says. "It is full of older and slum housing. Why not build homes for our families and then be there for them? That is the next step in self-sufficiency. And it would revitalize an inner-city neighborhood."

- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

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