New Life Village (NLV) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month to mark the start of construction on 16 new townhomes in Palm River. These affordable townhomes will serve low-income families raising at-risk sibling groups who have been impacted by trauma and the foster care system. This construction is the first phase of expansion of the Village’s 12-acre campus, already home to 100 residents.
The three and four-bedroom townhomes will be home to kinship, adoptive and foster families committed to bringing children to permanency. By providing safe, affordable housing and wraparound on-site programming and services within a trauma-aware community, New Life Village will support the stabilization, healing and flourishing of 16 families. On-site programming will provide these families and children access to therapy, financial literacy, homeownership, wellness and resilience activities and services.
This project was made possible by the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and Affordable Housing Services; an appropriation from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity because of the advocacy of Representative Jackie Toledo, Senator Danny Burgess and the advocacy efforts of Cesar Hernandez’s Omni Public; and the contributions of several donors, including the Kimmins Terrier Foundation and private local family foundations.
Because larger sibling groups within the foster care system tend to be especially vulnerable to separation and instability, this targeted housing will fill a crucial role in supporting their long-term well-being. New Life Village will welcome over 70 residents into the new units in the summer of 2022 following the completion of construction.
New Life Village was founded in 2012 and is located in Tampa, an area that is heavily impacted by both affordable housing and foster care crises. NLV is an intergenerational community designed to support families raising kinship, adopted and foster-to-permanency children who have survived abuse, neglect and trauma, offering them program-rich, below-market housing and on-site wraparound services.
NLV offers mission-based affordable housing as an incentive to the caregivers and seniors caring for these children. Senior citizens living in the Village serve as surrogate grandparents, tutors and mentors. The Village also offers an on-site therapeutic program for these children, their caregivers and the seniors.
To learn more, visit https://newlifevillage.org/ or facebook.com/NLVillage.
