Pasco County’s Community Development Department has brought home the 2023 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award for the third straight year.
The award, which was presented by the National Community Development Association, recognized Pasco’s department for its collaboration on the Family Services Center, according to a county news release.
The Family Services Center “helps families stay together until they get back on their feet,” Pasco County Commission Chairman Jack Mariano explained in the news release.
“We’re proud of the collaborative work by our Community Development team and our local partners to make this happen,” the board chairman added.
The Family Services Center consists of two buildings – a Family Services Shelter and a Housing Resource Center. More than 30 families have been helped there since it opened in 2021, according to the release.
Homeless families are referred through the county’s partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County.
The center helps families who are going through difficult times, by allowing families to get meals, receive case management services and keep their children in school, according to the release.
Pasco County owns the property, and the county has a 15-year lease agreement with Catholic Charities to operate the Family Services Center.
The county’s Community Development team was scheduled to receive the honor on Jan. 27 (after The Laker/Lutz News went to press), at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The Audrey Nelson Award recognizes exemplary local projects and programs funded through the HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and other HUD Office of Community Planning and Development funding.
The county’s Community Development also received the Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award in 2021 and 2022 for its collaboration on the Vincent House and Rosalie Rendu Residences Project, respectively.
Published February 01, 2023
