Recent data shows the Treasure Coast has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country when compared to other similar suburban areas of the United States.Data from Florida’s Council on Homelessness 2025 report shows that of the 569 people experiencing homelessness on the Treasure Coast, only 152 are considered sheltered. While the numbers are down from previous years, some say the demand isn’t going away. WPBF 25 News spoke with Stephanie Kingsbury, the executive director of Mustard Seed Ministries in Fort Pierce.”What we can do is we can provide people with food, clothing, shelter assistance, and utilities assistance to help stabilize an individual or a family who’s experiencing a crisis,” she said.Kingsbury said that everything from gas, groceries, and rent has played a factor in why they’ve seen new faces coming in for help.”You have everyone from someone who is unhoused, doesn’t have a place to lay their head or a kitchen to cook a meal, all the way to a family with two working parents who you know used to be able to get by just fine,” Kingsbury said.She said they’ve noticed families coming in for groceries to help save money needed elsewhere.”They’re supplementing their usual grocery shopping or meal prep with those kinds of things, which then allows them to divert those funds they would have used shopping at the grocery store to another bill to help with rent or to help with insurance or car payment or something like that,” she told WPBF.With the cost of living going up, Kingsbury said more and more people are feeling the impacts.”It really isn’t the single mom with three kids scenario anymore, it just isn’t, because everyone’s just trying to survive,” she said.She went on to say that some might be surprised by what the average homeless person really looks like and what’s going on in their life.”It could be their child’s teacher at school, it could be the person that waits on them in Publix, it could be the tech person that works on their computer,” she said.In the last year, Kingsbury said many people have come in saying the same thing.”They’ll say I’ve never had to do this before, what do I do? I’ve never had to get food from a food pantry. I’ve never had to ask for help with utilities or rent. People are experiencing this for the first time, and it is people that you run into every day,” she said.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsBetween their Fort Pierce location and Port St. Lucie location, Kingsbury said they’ve seen a shift in demand. She said their Port St. Lucie pantry used to see about a third of the number of clients that their Fort Pierce location would.”Now they are often outpacing Fort Pierce. Port St. Lucie can outpace Fort Pierce easily. I think that speaks to that constriction that everyone is starting to feel, regardless of which city you live in,” Kingsbury said.Currently, the majority of resources on the Treasure Coast are in Fort Pierce, as both Martin County and the city of Port St. Lucie do not have a general homeless shelter that isn’t designed specifically for families or victims of domestic violence.Kingsbury said typically those in need of shelter have to make their way down to West Palm Beach or up to Fort Pierce.”There just isn’t anywhere for them to be. Port St. Lucie desperately needs some overnight accommodations. It doesn’t even have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be a permanent solution, but even something that will allow people to get in out of the weather for overnight and then be gone the next morning,” she said.A Port St. Lucie resident brought those same concerns to council members during public comment at a January city council meeting.”I know a couple of weeks ago they had said they opened a cold weather shelter, but it was only up in Fort Pierce. Is there a reason we don’t have a cold-weather shelter here in Port St. Lucie? The reason I ask that is that they have to bus people from Port St. Lucie up to Fort Pierce,” she said.The resident went on to explain the overwhelming number of people without shelter that she’s noticed along U.S. 1.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.”They’re all over. Foreclosures are coming in big time now. It’s just something to pay attention to. We have families living out there right now, and it’s really sad. What are we doing to help them?” she asked council members.One council member responded by saying it’s a topic they’d be happy to discuss with the county.In the meantime, Kingsbury said they do their best to direct people to the available resources.”We always refer people to the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council, as they are our area experts on housing for the homeless. I know that they feel the stress as well, and that the number of beds that are available is very limited. We do have people that we work with whenever someone comes to see us and is looking for housing, we always make sure we connect them, and hopefully that will get them somewhere,” she told WPBF.Kingsbury said that for those who say to “just get a job,” it’s important to recognize that not everyone is able to work, and finding employment isn’t as easy as some assume.”They came here because they were under the impression jobs were plentiful and it would be easy for them to find a place to live and take care of their family’s needs those of us who live here know that that’s not necessarily always the case it is expensive to live here it is hard to find resources and so I talked to a lot of people who said I thought everything was going to be better when I come here and they’re just trying to get back to wherever they came from,” she said.Kingsbury said not having a permanent address can make getting a job even harder.”Where do you get your mail if you’re unhoused? That’s a real issue. There’s nowhere to have an address and a lot of services you might apply for, or a lot of things that could give you a hand-up, require a permanent address. Where’s your address of residence? Well, if you’re on the park bench or the street, you don’t have one of those,” Kingsbury said.She encourages people to be kind and help in any way they’re able.”I’m not advocating for handing people money necessarily, but buy them a meal, grab a few bottles of water, ask them what they need,” Kingsbury said.Mustard Seed Ministries has a list on its website of different ways the community can help in its mission.For more information on the resources available for those experiencing homelessness on the Treasure Coast, people can visit the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council website.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. —

Recent data shows the Treasure Coast has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country when compared to other similar suburban areas of the United States.

Data from Florida’s Council on Homelessness 2025 report shows that of the 569 people experiencing homelessness on the Treasure Coast, only 152 are considered sheltered.

While the numbers are down from previous years, some say the demand isn’t going away.
WPBF 25 News spoke with Stephanie Kingsbury, the executive director of Mustard Seed Ministries in Fort Pierce.

“What we can do is we can provide people with food, clothing, shelter assistance, and utilities assistance to help stabilize an individual or a family who’s experiencing a crisis,” she said.

Kingsbury said that everything from gas, groceries, and rent has played a factor in why they’ve seen new faces coming in for help.

“You have everyone from someone who is unhoused, doesn’t have a place to lay their head or a kitchen to cook a meal, all the way to a family with two working parents who you know used to be able to get by just fine,” Kingsbury said.

She said they’ve noticed families coming in for groceries to help save money needed elsewhere.

“They’re supplementing their usual grocery shopping or meal prep with those kinds of things, which then allows them to divert those funds they would have used shopping at the grocery store to another bill to help with rent or to help with insurance or car payment or something like that,” she told WPBF.

With the cost of living going up, Kingsbury said more and more people are feeling the impacts.

“It really isn’t the single mom with three kids scenario anymore, it just isn’t, because everyone’s just trying to survive,” she said.

She went on to say that some might be surprised by what the average homeless person really looks like and what’s going on in their life.

“It could be their child’s teacher at school, it could be the person that waits on them in Publix, it could be the tech person that works on their computer,” she said.

In the last year, Kingsbury said many people have come in saying the same thing.

“They’ll say I’ve never had to do this before, what do I do? I’ve never had to get food from a food pantry. I’ve never had to ask for help with utilities or rent. People are experiencing this for the first time, and it is people that you run into every day,” she said.

Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News

Between their Fort Pierce location and Port St. Lucie location, Kingsbury said they’ve seen a shift in demand. She said their Port St. Lucie pantry used to see about a third of the number of clients that their Fort Pierce location would.

“Now they are often outpacing Fort Pierce. Port St. Lucie can outpace Fort Pierce easily. I think that speaks to that constriction that everyone is starting to feel, regardless of which city you live in,” Kingsbury said.

Currently, the majority of resources on the Treasure Coast are in Fort Pierce, as both Martin County and the city of Port St. Lucie do not have a general homeless shelter that isn’t designed specifically for families or victims of domestic violence.

Kingsbury said typically those in need of shelter have to make their way down to West Palm Beach or up to Fort Pierce.

“There just isn’t anywhere for them to be. Port St. Lucie desperately needs some overnight accommodations. It doesn’t even have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be a permanent solution, but even something that will allow people to get in out of the weather for overnight and then be gone the next morning,” she said.

A Port St. Lucie resident brought those same concerns to council members during public comment at a January city council meeting.

“I know a couple of weeks ago they had said they opened a cold weather shelter, but it was only up in Fort Pierce. Is there a reason we don’t have a cold-weather shelter here in Port St. Lucie? The reason I ask that is that they have to bus people from Port St. Lucie up to Fort Pierce,” she said.

The resident went on to explain the overwhelming number of people without shelter that she’s noticed along U.S. 1.

Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

“They’re all over. Foreclosures are coming in big time now. It’s just something to pay attention to. We have families living out there right now, and it’s really sad. What are we doing to help them?” she asked council members.

One council member responded by saying it’s a topic they’d be happy to discuss with the county.

In the meantime, Kingsbury said they do their best to direct people to the available resources.

“We always refer people to the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council, as they are our area experts on housing for the homeless. I know that they feel the stress as well, and that the number of beds that are available is very limited. We do have people that we work with whenever someone comes to see us and is looking for housing, we always make sure we connect them, and hopefully that will get them somewhere,” she told WPBF.

Kingsbury said that for those who say to “just get a job,” it’s important to recognize that not everyone is able to work, and finding employment isn’t as easy as some assume.

“They came here because they were under the impression jobs were plentiful and it would be easy for them to find a place to live and take care of their family’s needs those of us who live here know that that’s not necessarily always the case it is expensive to live here it is hard to find resources and so I talked to a lot of people who said I thought everything was going to be better when I come here and they’re just trying to get back to wherever they came from,” she said.

Kingsbury said not having a permanent address can make getting a job even harder.

“Where do you get your mail if you’re unhoused? That’s a real issue. There’s nowhere to have an address and a lot of services you might apply for, or a lot of things that could give you a hand-up, require a permanent address. Where’s your address of residence? Well, if you’re on the park bench or the street, you don’t have one of those,” Kingsbury said.

She encourages people to be kind and help in any way they’re able.

“I’m not advocating for handing people money necessarily, but buy them a meal, grab a few bottles of water, ask them what they need,” Kingsbury said.

Mustard Seed Ministries has a list on its website of different ways the community can help in its mission.

For more information on the resources available for those experiencing homelessness on the Treasure Coast, people can visit the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council website.