ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Boley Centers new homeless outreach bus program, called the Firefly Project, recently began providing a shower, bathroom, and a place to cool off for people living on the streets in St. Petersburg.

“It is the first of its kind that is for severe and persistent mental illness and homelessness,” said Homeless Services Vice President Damia Kelly. “I really do hope that this is the game changer because the people that we’re serving need this. Our community needs this.”

The Firefly Project has been completely funded by the City of St. Petersburg, at a total cost of $350,000 for two years, which includes $100,000 for retrofitting the former passenger bus into a small RV, according to Boley Centers.

Kelly believes it’s going to make a big difference meeting the homeless where they are located, instead of asking them to move to a shelter.

“The individuals that we are serving are people that have been offered shelter 100 times and said, ‘no,’” she said. “There are people that’s been to every shelter and none of them work for them.”

Boley Centers calls it a vision of hope on wheels. The bus first began operating last week. Firefly Project Manager Sev Kiroglu said that while the bus was being retro-fitted, Boley Centers used an apartment complex to get a jump start on the program in January.

“We’ve been able to provide services to 78 different individuals, 30 of which are receiving ongoing services from us,” she said. “In that time, we’ve also been able to provide about 150 case management sessions, 200 showers, 200 items of clothing.”

John Best, 64, said he was a truck driver who became homeless this past January. Best caught up with the bus while it was parked at Campbell Park on Wednesday and called the staff “miracle workers.”

“We appreciate what they do for us every day that we visit,” he said. “I go to them and it’s a welcome relief because they really help me out.”

Kiroglu said connecting with the homeless by using compassion and respect is the key to connecting them with services that could help them get off the streets.

“Our work starts with listening and honoring each person’s story,” she said. “By doing this, we’re able to build trust and build rapport with the people that we’re working with.”

The Boley Centers will report to the St. Petersburg City Council at their meeting on Thursday with the latest results of the outreach program.