A Winter Haven nonprofit is moving forward with plans to build 13 townhomes for families experiencing homelessness, part of a broader push to eliminate childhood homelessness in the city by 2030. Heart for Winter Haven has secured $350,000 from the City of Winter Haven and Polk County toward the project, which is expected to cost $2.7 million and be built in phases.
The nonprofit calls the effort “Zero in '30,” a campaign with a long-term goal of acquiring or developing 50 units of affordable housing by 2030, according to Tampa Bay 28. As of October 2025, the organization reported securing six housing units toward that goal, with 44 still to go, per Heart for Winter Haven. The nonprofit says it will lean on partnerships with private landlords and local officials to build out the remaining units.
Tabitha Keith, director of programs for Heart for Winter Haven, said the project aims to break the generational cycle of homelessness, per Tampa Bay 28's reporting. Keith also said many people associate homelessness with sleeping in public places, even though childhood homelessness is often difficult to see — families doubling up with relatives or cycling through motels rather than living unsheltered.
A Family's Struggle Behind the Numbers
Among those the nonprofit has assisted are Josias and Sarahy Suarez, who received an eviction notice as the family struggled financially to pay bills and rent, according to the same report. Heart for Winter Haven helped Josias Suarez with his résumé and in obtaining a warehouse job, and the organization also provided financial education for the couple's children. Their son, Isaias Suarez, said the financial education taught him to save more than spend.
The Suarez family's experience reflects a pattern the nonprofit says it has addressed repeatedly. Heart for Winter Haven reported helping 267 families with school-aged children avoid eviction dating back to 2017. The nonprofit's clients receive customized care management plans pairing financial assistance with life skills training, and the organization also offers Jobs for Life and Faith in Finances programs. By early 2024, the organization reported that, since 2020, it had assisted 560 families facing eviction in Winter Haven and more than 900 across Polk County.
A Rare Bright Spot Amid Rising Regional Homelessness
The localized push comes as homelessness has been climbing across the wider region. The Homeless Coalition of Polk County's Point-in-Time count found the county's unhoused population rose to 804 individuals in 2025, a 7% increase from the prior year, as reported by Central Florida Public Media. Regional directors attributed the surge to post-pandemic economic distress and disaster-related displacements, the outlet noted.
Despite that broader trend, Polk County Public Schools homeless liaison Ben Ruch said Winter Haven was the only municipality in the county to record a decline in homeless children over a three-year span, crediting continuous care plans and coordinated community support for the localized progress, per the same Polk County video. Still, the scale of the challenge across the district remains significant: roughly 4,700 students in Polk County Public Schools are identified as experiencing homelessness or housing instability each school year, according to Tri-County Human Services. Most of those students live doubled-up with other families or in motels rather than in unsheltered conditions.
State Context and Federal Protections
Florida's statewide landscape adds pressure to local efforts. The University of Florida's Shimberg Center for Housing Studies reports that 97,762 public school students across Florida were unhoused during the 2023–2024 academic year, with more than 76% sharing housing with other households. The center's 2017 report also highlighted significant academic pass-rate disparities between homeless and housed students.
Separately, Florida's HB 1365 public camping law took effect in October 2024, outlawing public sleeping on municipal property and allowing residents to sue local governments that fail to enforce camping prohibitions, according to WUSF. Local law enforcement agencies in Polk County have sought to balance ordinance enforcement without crowding county jails, the station reported. Federal protections under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act separately require public school districts to remove barriers to enrollment and stability for students lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, per Polk County Public Schools, a protection that covers children staying in motels, temporary shelters, or doubled-up living situations.
Building on a Decade of Work
Heart for Winter Haven has worked to strengthen relationships and encourage collaboration since 2014. The nonprofit also lists The Housing Partnership of Winter Haven as a program.
That coalition combines government grant funding with private sector land and trade partnerships to support the proposed $2.7 million development. How the project's remaining construction costs will be financed beyond the initial $350,000 public grant, and how quickly the nonprofit can scale from its six acquired units toward its 50-unit goal, remain open questions as the townhome plan moves forward in phases.
