March 30, 2017 “My mom lost her job and she had drug problems,” said Rogers, now 23 years old and a graduate of Starting Right Now, which helps homeless teens. With need great, more homeless teens to get help Rogers plans on graduating from USF soon with a degree in public health. She’s also a resident assistant at Starting Right

February 2, 2017 TAMPA — She heard it from the other room, at first thinking her brother was laughing, then knowing he was crying, harder than she’d ever heard before. He only had to say one word — “Mom” — and Catie Purnell knew that her mother was gone. Her knees got weak. She sat on the edge of her

September 8, 2016 TAMPA — Only in hindsight did Yves Luma realize her mother never intended to get on the plane. Luma was 9. She wore a flowing white summer shirt and baggy jeans that she could grow into. Her mother said they were going to the United States, a land of shining streets and beautiful homes. On the tarmac

September 8, 2016 SEFFNER — When the school bell rang, Kemari Hayes sprinted home so her classmates wouldn’t find out where she lived. Home was a room at a motel, just off Interstate 4. Inside, Kemari, then 15, closed the door, locking out the crime that she see through the window. She did her homework and watched SpongeBob SquarePants. Kemari

September 8, 2016 NEW TAMPA — Sometimes a raw deal can knock a person off track. So it was for Crystal Ramroop, who was 16 when her mother’s heart gave out. “She was my best friend,” said Ramroop, now 18. “Every time something happened in my life, I told her first. It wasn’t real until she knew.” She had called

July 6, 2016 Video

July 16, 2015 Printed from the Tampa Tribune. By JAMIE PILARCZYK – jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com Vicki and Joel Sokolik say they have found a way to help end homelessness, and some top local political and business leaders believe the approach has merit. “With the homeless numbers increasing, ‘Starting Right, Now’ will complement existing programs, such as Metropolitan Ministries,” said Tampa Mayor Pam

July 15, 2015 The former Harris TIPS Drop-Out Prevention School on Haines Road in St. Petersburg will soon become a home to teens who have nowhere else to go at the end of the school day. An old St. Petersburg school building is about to get a new life as a home for homeless teens. For many, the first impression

July 15, 2015 TAMPA (FOX 13) – It’s graduation season. Thousands of local students are making the leap from high school to college. But for homeless students, it’s a benchmark that at one time seemed unreachable. Kelsey Mitchell graduated Monday from Tampa’s Robinson High School. If you asked her a year ago if she thought she’d see this day, she