The GiveWell Community Foundation has selected Callie Neslund of Lakeland to be its chief operating officer. Neslund, 37, will assume the role in August, primarily focusing on “future initiatives stemming from the United Community Needs Assessment currently underway, strategic planning, and day-to-day operations,” according to a news release.
Category: Social Services
Posted inSocial Services
Mayor: Lakeland Is ‘5,000 Residences Short’ for a City Its Size
Skyrocketing home values and rental rates are issues across Central Florida but rising housing costs in Lakeland are particularly acute because it is “5,000 residences short” for a city its size, Mayor Bill Mutz said at a forum on housing and homelessness.
Posted inSocial Services
Video and Photos: Lakeland Homelessness Forum
Here are photos and partial video from “Humanity, Housing and Homelessness,” a forum held Thursday evening at Catapult Lakeland.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
Thursday Forum Will Discuss Solutions to Homelessness in Lakeland
Solutions for the 3,700-plus Polk County public school students classified as homeless — living in shelters, budget motels, dangerously compromised dwellings or sofa-surfing with friends and family — will be among the topics discussed Thursday at a Lakeland forum on homelessness and affordable housing.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
Take a Survey to Tell Local Agencies About Pressing Community Needs
The United Way of Central Florida and the GiveWell Community Foundation are partnering to offer a comprehensive, “first-of-its-kind” community needs assessment survey. The non-profits are hoping people will take the time to fill it out, as the responses will help the organizations and others make decisions on how to prioritize funding.
Posted inHealth, Social Services
Breast Cancer Foundation Seeing an Increase in Demand for Help
The Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida is seeing an increase in demand for assistance from breast cancer patients, with its client base nearly doubling during the pandemic.
Posted inCity Hall / Local Gov't, Social Services
As Cold Drives Need, Talbot House Assured of Funds for New Boilers
The city of Lakeland will advance a languishing request by Talbot House Ministries to help pay for two new boilers the nonprofit had to install last year when its existing system failed by using money from a $50,000 U.S. Housing & Urban Development block grant.
Posted inActivism, Social Services
Community Answers VISTE’s Call for Holiday Volunteers
The community responded after VISTE put out a call for more volunteers for their annual Thanksgiving meal delivery to the homebound elderly. The organization went from 200 volunteers signed up last week to 350 in time for Wednesday’s deliveries of 2,000 meals, News Channel 8 reports. There was also an outpouring of cranberry sauce cans, […]
Posted inNews Roundup
Read It in the Morning Paper, Social Services Edition
ELDERPOINT SERVICES, a nonprofit agency that provided transportation and nutrition for seniors, has discontinued its services. VISTE and Citrus Connection are working to serve as many former ElderPoint clients as possible. LAKE WIRE RETIREMENT CENTER on Peachtree Street has closed, its owner retiring and selling the property to a developer who plans to build apartments. […]
Posted inHousing
As Eviction Moratorium Ends, Renters Urged to Seek Assistance
With the federal eviction moratorium ending Saturday, local officials are urging renters who are behind on payments and were affected by COVID-19 to apply for assistance through a Polk County emergency fund; they can also seek help through United Way’s 2-1-1 phone line. Polk courts face a backlog of 765 eviction cases dating to January […]
