“I was homeless for three years,” said Kwanisha Palmer in an interview with the Catalyst. “When I moved [to Innovare], I didn’t know where I was moving to; I really didn’t care; I just signed the papers.”
Palmer is a single mother of four who, on Valentine’s Day two years ago, moved her family into Innovare (850 5th Ave S), a 50-unit affordable housing complex in St. Pete’s Innovation District managed by Volunteers of America Florida (VOAF). The development provides permanent housing to vulnerable and homeless individuals and families, with nearly 100% of its tenants remaining stably housed in their two years of operation.
Those statistics come from VOAF’s hands-on approach and continuum of care. The administrative and care staff offices are co-located within the residential buildings, rather than placed off-site. Stephanie Vranich opens her office window every morning and greets tenants.
VOAF designed Innovare to eliminate as many barriers for residents as possible. In addition to co-locating services and housing, VOAF considers residents permanent, even if they do not earn an income. Those who do earn and are at 60% AMI are automatically charged a third of their income, ensuring residents do not have to worry about sudden evictions and temporary shelters. Vranich added that most residents see Innovare as a step toward independence and actively seek secure housing elsewhere, making room for others to move in.
Palmer’s oldest daughter, who still lives with her at Innovare, graduated from Gibbs High School and is finishing college for massage therapy. Before living at Innovare, Palmer said it was difficult to consistently get her children to school. She was forced to relocate constantly and had no access to a vehicle. “The last place I lived was a homeless camp,” she said. But at Innovare, staff helped her acquire the essentials – cap and gown and a graduation party.
Since opening in February two years ago, Innovare has dismissed only two residents, but both remain stably housed. “We still see it as a gain,” said Stringfellow, CEO of VOAF, adding that the most recently dismissed tenant is housed in Ocala, just not with VOA. “He needed a high level of care,” she said, and “the city was a temptation for him.”
As mentioned, Innovare provides a continuum of care on site. But after 30 years of doing this kind of work, Stringfellow said she has learned that, depending on the individual, some locations are more suitable than others. “I could do a dissertation on this subject,” she said. “It’s not empirical, but some heal better in rural areas, [like Ocala], some in cities [like St. Pete], or places like Key West.”
Stringfellow’s observation nonetheless informs where VOA buys and develops land. “We’re pickier,” she said, for projects like Innovare.
Innovare is also fortunate in how its residential vouchers function. It receives vouchers as a project, so when a tenant leaves, the vouchers can be ported over to the individual, which helps them acquire new housing. In effect, Innovare can continuously cycle its own vouchers – making it easier for tenants to move out, while allowing new tenants to move in immediately to fill vacancies.
It’s difficult enough to bridge the gap between homelessness and subsidized housing, but the next step – from stably housed to employed and living on one’s own steam – is equally tricky and harrowing, according to Travis Brown, VOAF’s vice president of housing and development.
Often, people fail at this step. Brown said the risk of falling all the way back down is high. “They have to start again from the beginning,” he said, “at a shelter and work their way back through the system again.”
Palmer is facing this issue right now. She said it took three years of filing paperwork before she could get approved for housing. In that time, she was shuffled between homeless shelters, short-term hotel rooms or unsafe conditions “full of mold and rats,” Palmer lamented. “My children got sick.”
When Palmer does move, the voucher will follow her, providing a cushion and improving her prospects for securing housing. But like Palmer waiting those three years for any kind of a break, many have been waiting years.
Pinellas Point in Time (PIT) data counts the homeless population, giving a snapshot of the issue. But the methodology leaves much to be desired. The count is conducted on a single night in January and, in even-numbered years, only counts those in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens.
The 2025 PIT count reported 1,863 people experiencing homelessness on that single night in January, a decrease from 2024. Despite lower numbers, there was a significant uptick in youth homelessness. Additionally, the data is only a snapshot of the problem and not 100% accurate.
In odd-numbered years, the PIT count includes those not living in shelters, but the search is conducted as an in-person survey and primarily focuses on known areas of dense unsheltered populations. That leaves open the potential for large margins of error because stray individuals or small groups may not be accounted for. This year is an even year, so the current data on unsheltered homelessness will not be released until 2027. Yet, PIT data informs budget allocations for programs that assist the unhoused.
Many Innovare residents are coming from Pinellas Hope shelter, which consists of tents and some permanent structures, but mostly tents. Reportedly, the tents only last about three months, and the site is always at capacity, with many still waiting for a space.
Part two of this report will examine the unhoused situation downstream from Innovare, at camps like Pinellas Hope – the space and funding issues there – and whether the homeless situation is actually improving, as some reports, like PIT data from January 2025, suggest.