About Homeless Programs

Hopefully, this is good news.

ST. PETERSBURG - One of the city's largest care-providers for homeless people will open a job-training center and virtual employment agency in a few days.

The St. Vincent de Paul Employment Project will offer training in plumbing, culinary arts, computers and paralegal studies, said Sophie Sampson, director of the Center for Hope, the St. Vincent facility that bears her name.

"Once we train them, then we'll get them jobs," Sampson said.

The deal with homeless programs is some are better than others. A good program like the Volunteer of America, in Suitcase City, does not have the funding for job training. VOA is good at getting housing for people with medical problems. The Salvation Army in downtown Tampa is bad. I had someone tell me it's easier to get crack there than on the streets.

There are things homeless people, trying to get into programs, need to know. Some programs will ask for you to sign your checks and food stamps to them. This is a scam.

Do not stay in any place that will not let you use their phone number or address as a place of residence? That is suspicious and homeless residents can't get a job without a number and address. Programs such as that do not want to better a person. They want rent money from residents working temp labor jobs.

The most important thing is do not live in a halfway run by a crackhead. That may seem obvious. What's not is many halfway houses are run by hardcore smokers.