St. Francis House urgently appeals for financial support
Press release from St. Francis House
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – St. Francis House urgently appeals for financial support as operational expenses surge by 30% due to inflation and increased living costs. Donations are critical to sustaining vital services for women and families experiencing homelessness.
Despite these financial pressures, our commitment to serving the most vulnerable members of our community remains unwavering. However, we cannot do it alone. We urgently need your support to bridge the gap and ensure that we can continue providing essential services to women and families with children who are experiencing homelessness.
Now, more than ever, community support is indispensable. Without it, St. Francis House risks being unable to sustain its operations and maintain the level of care and support essential for its clients.
Lauri Schiffbauer, Executive Director of St. Francis House, expressed gratitude for the community’s consideration and emphasized the tangible difference every contribution, regardless of size, makes in the lives of those in need. “Your generous support will offer hope, stability, and the prospect of a brighter future for women and families experiencing homelessness in our community,” Schiffbauer said.
To make a donation or learn more about supporting St. Francis House, please visit stfrancishousegnv.com or send a check/money order to PO Box 12491, Gainesville, FL 32604.
All contributions are fully tax-deductible as St. Francis House is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
I thought that The Pope (“El Papa” or is it “La Papa”?) was the financier of last resort for St. Francis house? Protestants don’t have saints other than chuckly, rolly polly Nicholas, do they?
Well, if the Saint Francis house goes away maybe they’ll take the homeless with them and our businesses downtown will be able to get back to business and it would be nice to be able to walk downtown in the evening and not be constantly shook down for money.
First of all this isn’t grace! You are attacking children and their parents! I with my kids and husband had to stay there for three months until we could get back on our feet. They do not enable but give a hand up to get folks back on their feet. It helps to know the difference between the homeless enabling center of grace and the actual help of Saint Francis that actually requires a blue card (police clearance). I will defend Saint Francis House all day and not grace… also, you say mayor Ward backed I have to laugh when you say this, the city barely contributes to Saint Francis in a two and a half month period grace recieved over 400,000 from the city while Saint Francis received zero.. and those were per public records request
OK please provide receipts, to show your donations to Saint Francis house or are you just one of those takers. It seems to me, you could return the favor to them since they help you and your family get back on your feet.
If you were to get to know the place you would know there is no connection to a religious organization. And was started by a woman wanting to help those in need. Get your blue card and go talk to staff about the history.
They ran out of money because 30 rooms costs $3 million!… tithing the homeless 5 bucks at an intersection would make you better at combatting the issue than most charities (which are usually tax write off scams)
Actually they help those that want help and are willing to try and recover from whatever issues have gotten them into a homeless situation. Single moms with children are welcome there in a safe environment. Maybe do some research first. If it weren’t for the Christians of all denomination we wouldn’t have a health system at all.
You said it all when you wrote “Actually they help those that want help and are willing to try” the problem is not many of them want real help, most are just looking for a handout so they can continue their life of drug abuse and addiction. After all the more food, clothes, assistance, etc. that most of these people receive just frees up their intersection begging money to go to the local drug dealer and alcohol store. I know not all are like this, but you can bet that most of them are.
Close disGRACE and give that funding to SFH — on condition they relocate away from seedy liquor stores and gas stations, far from those addiction hangouts. Women and children do NOT need that at their lunch table. 🙏🏻🙏🏽🙏🏿
They plan on relocating! This has been in the news. I agree that there should be a priority funding to Saint Francis as opposed to grace. It makes me infuriated when I pull public record and see that little or nothing goes to Saint Francis and yet the city will fund grace when they don’t require police clearance. Saint Francis does it right.
DisGRACE was est. by local lawyers and bondsmen — for their client$ To have “home addresses” to serve papers at.
Lauri Schiffbauer can best avoid last minute emergency scrambling for funds by submitting this plea to local Catholic leaders where a long-range budget for St. Francis House can be established. Gainesville’s “CATHOLIC CHARITIES” and their networks exist to provide solutions to the St. Francis House problem. https://www.catholiccharitiesgainesville.org/
SFH is multi-denominational, not just Catholic est.
Low-barrier (no police clearance) homeless criminal recruitment camps like GRACE Marketplace should be illegal. All they do is act as a beacon for criminal outcasts from the entire region. It was a shame that it didn’t burn to the ground a few months ago when some crackhead started a fire.
All the funding that GRACE gets should be reduced and transferred to organizations like SFH instead since they actually work for the small percent of homeless that are trying to improve their situation. Contrast that with GRACE which is just a slush fund / money laundering front for politicians.
You have to keep an eye on all these homeless service providers though. SFH operated for years without a paid executive, and now they have one making $65k/year. Not outrageous, but something to keep an eye on. Their donations don’t seem to have improved much.
The housing director at SFH also earns a significant income. To better support the people they serve, it would be recommended to trim administrative expenses.
Hahahaha.