SOUTH VENICE – The core mission of Family Promise of South Sarasota County has always been to provide struggling families a firm footing, guidance and a period of respite, so they can take steps to find suitable housing.
Since October 18, 2015, those families could use a day shelter at 720 Shamrock Boulevard as a permanent address, and a place to access career guidance.
At night, those families could sleep at one of 12 area host congregations.
The COVID-19 pandemic initially closed churches and shattered that model, forcing the nonprofit to house those families in area hotels.
“That cost us a lot of money and it wasn’t the greatest way to run our program,” Family Promise of South Sarasota County Executive Director Jennifer Fagenbaum told a small group on Sept. 16, during a celebration of the “groundbreaking” for a new shelter in South Venice.
Technically, the celebration was inside a gutted, six-bedroom, three-bath property at 880 E. Baffin Drive that was once home to the La Paloma Assisted Living Facility.
When complete, the shelter will provide space for between four and six families who participate in the Bridge Housing program.
Each room will have a bed, couch, storage, stackable washer and dryer, and be lockable from the outside.
The two on the west side will be solo units for smaller families.
Because larger families with a father, mother and multiple children may not fit into one room, the four on the east side are split into two optionally interconnected pairs.
There will be a communal kitchen and dining area, which can also be used for studies.
“The churches will still participate,” Fagenbaum said. “They’ll come and do meals in the evenings and then help their kids with homework and share meals with the families.”
According to United Way’s 2025 ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report, the annual “survival budget” for a family with young children in Sarasota now exceeds $100,000, while the median household income is under $78,000.
Through the Bridge Housing program, families receive help and weekly case management for 60 to 90 days.
After that, they may move on to permanent housing or enter the Pathways Home, a year-long transitional shelter program.
Family shelter facility a decade in the making
Family Promise purchased the property last May from Morgan Legacy Partners, Inc.
A $580,000 asking price was negotiated down to $350,000 because it needed a new roof and the hurricane windows were not properly installed.
A $250,000 grant from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation and a $100,000 grant from Sarasota County covered the purchase price.
“This has been a vision for a little bit,” Fagenbaum said. “We’ve had our shelter program since we opened in 2015.”
The cost of the renovation, initially pegged at $450,000, grew to $700,000 due in part to the installation of what Fagenbaum termed “hospital grade” heating, air conditioning and fire safety equipment.
Most of those funds have been secured through donations and grants from other area foundations.
“We still probably need $150,000,” Fagenbaum said, though later added that doesn’t include the $30,000 cost of an emergency generator.
The hope is that the remainder will be raised at “Sweet Dreams, A Night of Giving Gala,” the nonprofit’s 10th anniversary celebration on Oct. 11 at Plantation Golf & Country Club.
Tickets and sponsorships for that are still available online at https://familypromisessc.org/gala.
General contractor J2 Solutions Inc. is handling the renovation, which is slightly ahead of schedule – demolition was estimated to take three weeks but was accomplished in a week because none of the interior walls were part of the supporting structure.
Fagenbaum said the reconstruction could take 18 to 20 weeks.
Jess Fronckowiak, president of J2 Solutions, noted that many of the attendees were subcontractors who will transform the former assisted living facility into the multi-family shelter.
“On behalf of all the tradespeople and construction folks in this community, … it’s really fun to do construction work when you’re not getting yelled at as much, and you get to help people for a fantastic cause,” he said.
What is Family Promise of South Sarasota County?
Family Promise of South Sarasota County is affiliated with the national Family Promise, an interfaith 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and a sister to Family Promise of Sarasota-Manatee.
In 2024, Family Promise of South Sarasota County served 139 families – totaling 484 individuals, including 274 children.In 2025, it is on track to serve at least 150 families, with over 490 individuals projected to receive services.
There are three core programs: Open Doors, designed to help families at risk of homelessness; the Bridge Housing Shelter program; and the Pathways Home transitional shelter program.
Pathways Home, which essentially started during the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first of its type hosted by a local nonprofit.
It provides participants with everything from financial counseling to education so they can qualify for higher-paying jobs.
Participants currently pay a program fee of $600 a month for one-bedroom cottages and $800 a month for two-bedroom cottages, which is well below market-rate rent, and are able to save up for the future.
Pathways Home started with the purchase of Parkside Cottages, a 10-home development on Substation Road in Venice, and subsequently added an adjacent property, giving the nonprofit 12 homes.
In 2024, it bought both the Baffin Drive shelter property and 2.4 acres in Venice, with the goal of building up to 54 more units of affordable housing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New family shelter in Venice will help Family Promise keep at-risk families in homes
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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