Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County receives $175,000 Housing for Everyone Grant from TD Charitable Foundation

Support from the TD Charitable Foundation will help Homeless Coalition rehabilitate nine homes for homeless families in St. Johns County

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, MAY 09, 2023 – The Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County (ESHC), an agency that provides affordable rental housing with supportive services to extremely low-income, homeless families and individuals in St. Johns County, was recently awarded a $175,000 Housing for Everyone grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®. The Homeless Coalition is one of 37 non-profit organizations selected from more than 450 applicants to receive a Housing for Everyone grant as part of the TD Charitable Foundation’s signature grant initiative that has helped support organizations that are focused on providing affordable housing and affordable housing services since 2005.

In recent years the housing affordability crisis has continued to be a financial burden on families. As individuals and families across the country struggle with inflation and an exponential rise in rental costs, affordable housing providers face increased hardship given the growing demand for affordable rental units and emergency rental assistance.

The grant will support the ESHC Preservation Project, which aims to rehabilitate nine homes in various states of disrepair. ESHC currently uses eight of the homes as affordable rental homes for extremely low-income, homeless families and people. One home currently used for administrative purposes will be converted into an affordable rental home for homeless families.

The TD Charitable Foundation grant will allow ESHC to renovate and preserve these homes (some over 100 years old), in order to provide safe and decent affordable rental housing for up to 40 extremely low-income homeless families and people each year. It is expected that renovations would allow ESHC to continue to use the homes as affordable rental homes for up to 15 years before requiring further renovations.

“We’re excited to receive this grant from the TD Charitable Foundation. Preserving these homes is critically important since St. Johns County lacks affordable housing and our low-income residents are often considered hard to house. These homes will provide them with an opportunity to be stably housed, then work with our supportive services to build the skills that can lead to self-sufficiency,” said Debi Redding, Executive Director at ESHC.

“The resources and support the Homeless Coalition of St. John’s provides to some of the most vulnerable members of this community is critical,” said Nick Miceli, Regional President of Florida Metro, TD Bank. “We are inspired by their work and proud to support them in their continued efforts to provide safe, affordable housing to those who need it most.”

Through the 17th annual Housing for Everyone grant competition, the TD Charitable Foundation awarded $7 million across the Bank’s Maine-to-Florida footprint and Michigan to help support affordable housing organizations who focus on preserving affordable rental housing in their work to deliver rental assistance, rehabilitate affordable rental housing properties, and build organizational capacity to address resident sustainability for the long-term. Since 2005, the TD Charitable Foundation has given more than $49 million dollars to non-profit and charitable organizations through the Housing for Everyone grant competition and helped support more than 550 affordable housing projects and initiatives.

The Housing for Everyone grant competition supports TD’s longstanding commitment to community enrichment through TD’s corporate citizenship platform, The TD Ready Commitment, which actively promotes inclusivity, economic vitality and environmental wellbeing, enabling people of all backgrounds to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

To learn more about Housing for Everyone and for a full list of this year’s grant recipients, please visit https://stories.td.com/us/en/article/td-charitable-foundation-awards-7-million-to-37-non-profits-helping-preserve-affordable-rental-housing.

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About the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County

Since 1998, the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County (also known as Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County) has served the St. Johns County extremely low-income, homeless families and people by providing safe and decent homes to help stabilize their situation, then providing supportive services needed to help them gain self-sufficiency. The agency operates from a 5-acre campus in West Augustine, which currently has 23 homes. Additionally, the agency also has a home for homeless veterans and an old schoolhouse renovated into affordable rental units for up to 11 homeless individuals. More information on the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County is available at https://homelesscoalitionstjohns.com.

About the TD Charitable Foundation

The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has distributed over $300 million through donations to local nonprofits from Maine to Florida footprint and Michigan. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation is available at https://www.tdbank.com/corporate-responsibility/the-ready-commitment/funding-opportunities/.