Homeless Empowerment Program<\/a> provides homeless and low-income families and individuals with housing, food, clothing and support services to help them achieve self-sufficiency and improved quality of life.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Zak-White-895x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Zak White<\/p>\n
White worked closely with PERC leadership as a collaborator and board member. HEP and PERC have been partners for more than a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ZAK Initiative Transportation Program was designed to be affordable, user-friendly and reliable, PERC CEO and executive director Michael Jalazo explained at the Tuesday gathering. Currently, individuals can call a number to book a ride. An app is in the works.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PERC is utilizing a fleet of vans for the effort. The project has been in development for multiple years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get people to and from work,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s literally the only part of this that\u2019s simple. Transportation is a barrier for any underserved population and every underserved population.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funding partners include United Way Suncoast, Florida Hires, Pinellas County, Pinellas Community Foundation and the Empowering People Program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important that we remember Zak for who he was,\u201d said HEP vice president of clinical services Tawny Swain Castle at the event. \u201cToday, we celebrate not only the launch of an incredible resource for the community, but also the legacy of a man who dedicated much of his life to serving others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She explained that \u201covercoming homelessness requires more support than just housing.\u201d Individuals need support systems, work and education opportunities and pathways to stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReliable transportation can make all the difference,\u201d Swain Castle said. \u201cYou can have the determination to work, the skills to succeed and the desire to build a better future, but if you can\u2019t get a ride to the job interview or you can\u2019t get to the job, then you can\u2019t have that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiffany Miller works at the Arts Conservatory For Teens, which is based in St. Petersburg. She and White grew up together in Dunedin. They shared a passion for music.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After reuniting in 2022, Miller and White would become a couple. Often, they went to concerts together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHis presence always calmed people,\u201d she explained to the Catalyst. \u201cHe was always so interested to hear what you had to say. Even at such a young age, there was something that drew me to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miller believes that White would be pleased with the ZAK Initiative Transportation Program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was so passionate about social causes and helping people,\u201d she said. \u201cHe helped everyone else but himself. His dedication was completely to helping not just his friends and loved ones, but people in society and the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
HEP co-founder Barb Green has many fond memories of White.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cZak was just a good kid,\u201d she told the Catalyst. \u201cI say that even though he was an adult. He was so smart with book work. He just had that mind. I know that HEP has a number of things that we wouldn\u2019t have had if Zak hadn\u2019t been around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green believes that the effort can make a \u201cbig difference\u201d for people. When homeless shelters run out of bus passes and other transportation options for clients, community projects like the ZAK Initiative Transportation Program can be essential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why we need partners like PERC to come in and say \u2018we can do it\u2019 and make it happen,\u201d she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a promise in words.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
ZAK Initiative Transportation Program website\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People Empowering and Restoring Communities (PERC) and Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP) leaders came together to honor the legacy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-326100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326100","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=326100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}