MELBOURNE, Fla. — A project to cut homeless numbers in half in Melbourne is moving forward.
The Daily Bread soup kitchen closed in May. Since then, leaders have been working toward opening a new facility called Providence Place.
It would be located on Apollo Boulevard near NASA Boulevard.
“I was basically on the streets, I had a vehicle at that time, I was sleeping in the vehicle,” Daniel Bennett said.
“I was living on the street for a while,” Steve Williams said. “The whole thing was bad. It was bad.”
Experiencing homelessness is something they said they will never forget. Through help at the Daily Bread, the pair landed as roommates at Heritage Park Apartments in Melbourne.
“The apartment is nice,” Bennett said. “The people are nice. It’s actually a nice place to live.”
“This is a lot better,” Williams said. “A lot better.”
Helping people like them is the exact goal of Providence Place.
“It’s not a shelter,” Jeffrey Njus, the Executive Director for the Daily Bread, now rebranded as Providence Connects, said. “It’s not a transition for people. It’s earmarked for the person who needs support to overcome their homeless situation with a real home.”
Providence Place will be a 120-unit community for those coming out of homelessness.
Njus said Providence Place will cut down homelessness in the city by 50%.
“How do you think this project can do that?” Channel 9’s Sam Martello asked. “If you look at our city in Melbourne, there’s probably about 250-300 people sleeping outside any given night,” Njus said. “If we’re housing about 200 people at Providence Place that cuts that number in half.”
It’s a project with a $17 million price tag. The city has already agreed to provide $3 million in funding. Njus said $6 million will come through donations from people, churches, and businesses. Another $10 million will come from people and foundations who are taking out zero interest to low interest loans.
The project was expedited with the closure of the Daily Bread. That closure was forced by concerns from nearby residents. The new location has few homes immediately nearby.
“With the stability we’re providing at Providence Place it will be solving neighborhood problems not bringing neighborhood problems,” Njus said.
Permitting for Providence Place has already been submitted to the city. Leaders aim to break ground by the end of the year, with a grand opening scheduled for 2027.
Anyone looking to live at Providence Place will have to go through an assessment process with the Brevard Homeless Coalition. This will be made available when the community gets closer to its opening.NASA
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