In just a single year, the Gulf Coast community saw a more than 30 percent increase in homelessness in women. But St. Matthew's House is working to change that statistic.
"So nationally and locally, we've seen women being the fastest growing segment of homelessness," said Steve Brooder, the CEO of St. Matthew's House. "So when the opportunity was presented to us to do something, we said we really need to have a shelter for women and children."
For years, St. Matthew's House has stepped in to help people in our community in their time of need when they had nowhere else to turn. People like Jacoby, a mother with several young children and another little one on the way. For months, she and her family had been surviving by living in her car.
"I always felt like no one wants to help me," Jacoby said. "How can I be a mom if I can't keep a stable roof or I can't keep a job?"
Every night, she worried about what the next day would bring and how she was going to provide for and protect her babies.
"I had to pray every night to make sure we were OK, we woke up to see the next day," Jacoby said.
For months, Jacoby prayed for protection and for guidance. Eventually, that prayer was answered when she was accepted into the St. Matthew's House Women and Children's shelter.
Brooder said, "It's a 39-bed facility. There's eight private dorms for moms with children. So we can take two, three or four children in a unit with a mom and then 28 beds for single women."
And this facility is about more than just putting a roof over their heads.
Brooder said, "It's it's a full program. So after they get stabilized in the first two weeks, there's intensive case management, but they work on budget, they work on financial literacy, they work on nutrition, help them get back to work, daycare, everything that they need to get back on their feet and really move them on from the state that they're in. It's what we talk about when we say crisis to contributor, moving them through that continuum."
"And once I got that call from St. Matthew's House, they opened up a lot of doors for me. They opened up so many. I'm able to rest, I'm able to eat, I'm able to sleep, you know, peacefully," Jacoby said. "It's just brought me so much joy. And I'm so happy that I get a chance. My children get a chance to be here."
Jacoby said she's forever thankful to St. Matthew's House. And even though she loves living there, she knows she shouldn't get too comfortable. Her dream is to be able to use the shelter as a stepping stone to a permanent home for her and her family.
"My goal is to be able to be stable for my children, to be able to be in their own home, just go to their own bed, to go to their own bathroom, you know, that is my goal. I have goals and I'm determined to get them. I'm going to reach them. I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep pushing to be the better woman," Jacoby said.
St. Matthew's House is always looking for donations, especially for the women's and children's shelter. They need things like hygiene and personal care products, linens for the beds, as well as diapers and clothes for the children and babies, especially pajamas.
If you can donate, you can take them to their main facility on Airport-Pulling Road in Naples and they will make sure they're distributed where they need to go.
You can also donate to the Amazon wishlist here .