Stable Families Project putting homelessness in the past for single mother of 2

TAMPA, Fla. - You’ve heard the saying, "when one door closes, another opens." For Alexia Shepard, the door she opened Wednesday morning is a very new beginning. 

The single mother of two lost her job due to COVID-19 and spent much of last year homeless.

"She started with 20-square-feet... sleeping in her car with her two beautiful children," explained Metropolitan Ministries CEO Tim Marks.

Wednesday morning, Metropolitan Ministries and the Super Bowl Host Committee changed all of that.

"Now she’s going to be able to live in 1,200-plus, square feet," Marks said.

The two organizations came together to create the Stable Families Project, supporting more than one dozen Tampa Bay families transitioning from homelessness to self-sufficiency.

"On and off, we have been homeless or struggling, from near homeless for five years," Shepard reflected. "But this right here shows you that now we have no more worries."

And just to make sure of that, Metro Ministries, Titus O’Neill, and the host committee presented Shepard with a check to help her finish her nursing degree.

"I almost passed out but I was trying to keep it together," she said. "We have no excuses and we can get there. We can make it. We’ll be able to make it, no matter what."

Twenty families from the Tampa Bay community will also benefit from living in that community of apartments in Seffner. Metropolitan Ministries says it’ll provide case management and support, but families will live independently