Gray Rohrer
As part of her Hope Florida initiative connecting nonprofit charities doing social work with public and private funding, First Lady Casey DeSantis handed out $5,000 each to five groups in Northwest Florida on Thursday.
The groups help those with autism and other special needs, shelter domestic violence victims, and feed and clothe low-income children and families in need.
“Hope Florida is helping struggling single moms, kids aging out of the foster care system, moms addicted to drugs, now the foster and adoptive care systems — and taking all the available resources within the community and working together to maximize opportunities for the individual while guiding people on a pathway to prosperity, economic self sufficiency, the American dream,” DeSantis said before handing out the checks in Freeport.
DeSantis noted part of her initiative is a portal, along with ‘care navigators’ within the Department of Children and Families, allowing single moms with a specific need — bunk beds and mattresses, in her example — to connect with local charities. The charities typically take over from there, she said.
“We find with the care portal that a lot of time these needs are really only inputted once, meaning you have a single mom who has needs after that you don’t see those coming back into the system again,” DeSantis said.
“Once the faith and community-based organizations within the community realize now that that single, struggling mom is there they don’t forget what they saw. They wrap her under their arms and they take her on that pathway and so you know what? Government can exit stage left and it’s up to the good people on the ground to be able to make things happen.”
DeSantis said 50,000 people have been served through her initiative.
One of the groups receiving a check was Westonwood Ranch, a nonprofit offering services to children and young adults with developmental or other disabilities, including equine therapy and job training.
“We are building relationships with these kids … we’re teaching them valuable job related skills,” said Lindy Wood, CEO of Westonwood Ranch. “We want our children to be able to contribute in a productive way in society.”
3 comments
Joe Corsin
July 21, 2022 at 5:26 pm
Meanwhile in 2019 Florida workers in rural areas were being grifted to a husk even before the pandemic. In NE Florida, many hotel workers were making the equivalent of $6 an hour back in 1997. The rich raked in mountains of cash during Trump…and workers became slaves.
YYep
July 23, 2022 at 10:55 am
Personally I believe in Mitch works I do not believe in discrimination just the children’s part
Jonathan Vitello
August 2, 2022 at 4:29 pm
You have a major problem in Florida do not trust the Desantis family Ron or Casey they are crooked and they tricked us all RINO. Elect Charlie instead. I Jonathan Vitello have been under attack by the news media here in Florida for doing the right thing turned them in for false advertising tax evasion and harrassing a neighborhood and schools with a helecopter. Ron and his wife allowed them to slam TV signal in me causing me to die on 11/19/2021 at Fish Memorial Hospital in Orange City Florida, I died for a short time and came back they then hit dosed me with a chemical, sense then I have been harrassed, molested, tortured, chased held hostage and have property damage done by these people and their illegal drones all over my first amendment rights due to the fact that I put up new post with pictures of the crime all over Facebook, tic Tok , Google maps. It has been a year and a half know and Ron nor his wife has stopped this act of terism or giving me any money for loss of life or livelihood due to the fact they stole my ID and ss card. Casey used to work with CNN, a former fake news friend to the Delgado family and the Hearst news media of Florida.
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