{"id":302592,"date":"2026-06-10T14:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/302592\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T14:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:02:07","slug":"florida-co-op-expands-housing-for-those-with-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/302592\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Co-op Expands Housing for Those With Mental Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In Florida,\u00a0nearly 40\u00a0homes\u00a0for those with severe mental illness\u00a0will\u00a0be finished next year, thanks to\u00a0a partnership between Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative and mental health service provider Vincent House.\u00a0(Photo\u00a0Courtesy:\u00a0WREC)<\/p>\n

As board chair of Vincent House, a nonprofit mental health services center, Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative\u2019s David Lambert regularly works with families striving to support loved ones with mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing is the number one priority of families,\u201d said Lambert, executive vice president and general manager of the Dade City, Florida-based co-op<\/a> and Vincent House board member for 10 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very scarce and it\u2019s hard to get into a safe place,\u201d he said. \u201cBut a roof over somebody\u2019s head provides a stable foundation for a good life for these folks.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the coming years, thanks to WREC\u2019s steadfast support<\/a>, 39 affordable homes will be available to Vincent House members receiving services in two counties. Fourteen homes recently went up in Pasco County, and groundbreakings will take place soon in Hernando County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In both counties, the 600-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath homes will be located near \u201cclubhouses,\u201d the agency\u2019s service hubs where residents will still be able to participate in job training and social and life skills activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Florida, one in six people living with severe mental illness are homeless, and access to safe and stable housing represents a chance for purposeful, independent living, said Elizabeth Statzer of Vincent House Pasco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWREC has been an extraordinary partner from day one,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir commitment to our members extends far beyond funding; they have invested their time, energy and belief in our mission. Because of that dedication, people who once had nowhere to turn will have a safe, stable place to call home.\u201d<\/p>\n

From start to finish, the co-op has been involved in all phases of the homes\u2019 construction, including materials procurement and project management. To help finance the $8 million project, WREC has leveraged its community connections, resulting in several million in Community Development Block Grants and other federal funds. Employee donations are also part of the mix.<\/p>\n

Lambert has thrown his energy into improving the community\u2019s access to mental health services since 2014, when he first took a tour of Vincent House in Pinellas County. The Florida chapters are two of the 360 members of Clubhouse International, a global mental health nonprofit with clubhouses in 33 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WREC\u2019s longtime involvement also has led to a partnership with Vincent House Pasco on a transitional jobs program for clients as well as support for the 2020 construction of a third clubhouse in the area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The transitional jobs program provides experience for Vincent House clients to work 12 hours a week as district service aides at WREC\u2019s headquarters for six months. Statzer screens and hires members, and if someone calls in sick, Vincent House sends one of its own employees to fill in.<\/p>\n

Employment for those with mental illness, even if it\u2019s temporary, changes lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the confidence of having a chance,\u201d Statzer says. \u201cOur members are some of the most motivated people that I know. They just need that opportunity, and then you just watch their confidence grow and flourish and maybe they can get their own job or go back to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian Magnusson, 24, works full time as an IT service specialist in WREC\u2019s Dade City office after graduating from the program a few years ago. Before that, he was homeless and living in a shed with no running water. He\u2019s the first aide to go on to work full time at the co-op.<\/p>\n

Magnusson, who lives in an apartment and is studying for cybersecurity certification, appreciates working at a job he loves in an organization with a family atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be in an environment that\u2019s professional and also lively, where everybody knows your name and it\u2019s not a cubicle graveyard,\u201d he said. \u201cI like the people a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving everyone the chance to lead purposeful, independent lives is rooted in the co-op\u2019s principles, Lambert says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cooperative has worked tirelessly to improve mental health access in our communities,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, we should do the best thing we can do to make a difference in our community, and I really think co-ops do that,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we don\u2019t improve the lives of people we serve, who will?\u201d \u202f<\/p>\n

Victoria A. Rocha is a staff writer for NRECA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Florida,\u00a0nearly 40\u00a0homes\u00a0for those with severe mental illness\u00a0will\u00a0be finished next year, thanks to\u00a0a partnership between Withlacoochee River Electric…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-302592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}