Saint Stephen's Way provides affordable housing, along with supportive services, to homeless families with schoolchildren in Brevard County. With financing from Florida Community Loan Fund and support from other public and private sources, SSWay developed a community in Melbourne, Florida, that includes affordable housing and a community center.

The organization’s recent newsletter announced that they are now operational with 40 residential townhomes occupied with over 150 people living in them.

"It's been great so far; my daughters really like it," says Kaleigh, a single mother with two young children. "The biggest thing is that it's a safe haven and a safe place to be. Saint Stephen's Way is that." Kaleigh's family is one of the 40 families now on SSWay's campus. "My first night in the apartment, even though a train went by, I never slept better," Kaleigh recalls. Now doing administrative work at her father's company, Kaleigh is a teacher by trade and wants to get back to that. "I want to grow as a teacher and hopefully buy my own home in Melbourne after SSWay."

The intake of families began the third week of June filling all 40 apartments in 71 days with 42 adults and 109 children, ages 1 to 18 years. Eddie Struttmann, SSWay's President, is pleased. "It's nice to see the group of families who have moved in forming a community on the campus. People are taking advantage of services and learning about resources. Lives are changing every day. It's incredible to watch."

What volunteer Jenna enjoys most is "seeing children and families come together as one big family." A teacher for 18 years, Jenna organized a "Homework Helper" tutoring program for the children. "I spoke to various school administrators where they require 25 hours of community service for student volunteers. Now we have four student volunteers tutoring children on Mondays in the Holman Community Center, with my help and supervision." Jenna also organized a movie night for residents, with start and end times that accommodate families with children, and free popcorn for all.

Mindy recently became SSWay's new Property Manager. Asked what she likes most about her job, Mindy replied, "Seeing the children excited about having a place to live. We recently had a basketball goal donated to us, and one boy had tears in his eyes to have a basketball goal he could use, and he has friends here he can play with. To me, SSWay means community, coming together to help people, going above and beyond."

Learn more about Saint Stephen’s Way at their website www.ssway.org
Learn more about Florida Community Loan Fund and Saint Stephen’s Way 
FCLF received a Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) award from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which allowed FCLF to offer more favorable terms to SSW to further help the project be successful.

Pictured above, one of the buildings on SSWay campus that offers affordable apartments. Below, volunteers sort furniture and supplies to furnish new apartments for residents; aerial and additional exterior photos of the community, including the Holman Community Center.

Key Participants:

• Property Owner: Saint Stephen’s Way, Inc., a Florida non-profit organization
• Construction/Perm Lender: Florida Community Loan Fund, Inc.
• Developer/Development Consultant: T. Zimmerman - GulfStream Atlantic, LLC
• Civil Engineer: Erin Trauger Consulting Engineer
• Architect: Ken Lebron – Caribeno Architectural Group, Inc.
• Site Work: Don Luchetti Construction, Inc.
• General Contractor: M.H. Williams Construction Group, Inc.
• Rental Assistance Admin: Housing Authority of Brevard County
• Donations: Charitable Contributions from the many generous supporters of Saint Stephen’s Way helped bring this project to fruition (Thank you!)