The Kiwanis Club of South Lake (KCOSL) was pleased to welcome Brian Broadway and Shannon Herrera to its August 11 meeting.  They presented the club with information about Find, Feed & Restore (FFR).  FFR provides a pathway for families from Homeless to Hopeful.  They provide services including free housing to families with children allowing them to get back on their feet, affordable housing to working families with children, homelessness avoidance services, and a woman’s mental health and domestic violence shelter.  They also provide financial budgeting classes, credit report education, economic meal planning, interview preparation, resume writing and counseling services.

Many neighbors in Clermont are experiencing a housing crisis.  Brian explained how the face of homelessness has changed over the years.  It’s not just the unemployed, the mentally ill, or the drug addicted as we might assume.  Many of today’s homeless work, but their wages are simply not enough to pay today’s sky-high rents. 

“You would be surprised to find out how many children under the age of 10 live in cars and in the woods in and around Clermont,” said Brian.  Florida is ranked #5 out of 50 states in the number of unsheltered children living here.  He told us that one out of three children who experience homeless have a significant mental health disorder by the age of eight.  And of course, these families can’t afford to pay for the treatment.

Brian described a mother living in her car with a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 5-year-old.  Imagine the logistics involved in raising three small children in a car.  Where do you bathe and brush your teeth?  How do you cook and eat meals?  Where do you store and wash clothes?   How do you read stories and send those precious babies off to sleep?  Thankfully, FFR was able to find this family a home and to provide them with things like groceries, towels, AC and warm beds.  The children, who slept in a car, were overjoyed.  Said the mother of another family with four small children, “You’re the miracle I’ve been waiting for.”

Providing housing for those in need is complex and expensive.  As a result, most non-profits are not able to do so.  KCOSL was honored to present FFR with a $1,000 check to sponsor their upcoming fundraiser, Battle for Hope: Cops vs, County on September 24, and to help them continue their important work. 

So what can we do to help these children and families?  FFRs programs are all funded by grants and by the generous support of the community.  To learn more about Find, Feed and Restore, to make a donation, or to become a volunteer, visit them at findfeedrestore.com

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Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child at a time.  The Kiwanis Club of South Lake is an active community service organization.  They meet every Thursday morning at 7:30 am at the Citrus Tower Conference Center, 2757 Citrus Tower Boulevard. 

Stop by and check them out.   For additional information about Kiwanis, please visit kcosl.org or Kiwanis.org

The post Find, Feed and Restore. The Miracle That The Homeless Have Been Waiting For! appeared first on South Lake Tablet.

Brian Broadway, Pastor and Founder of Living Message Church and Find, Feed & Restore, has been diligently working with a variety of missionary projects to help hundreds of needy families of South Lake over the past 12 years.

Brian and his wife Allison Broadway are the Lead Pastors and Co-Founders of Living Message Church of Downtown Clermont. They are originally from North Babylon in Long Island, New York near Farmingdale.  

Brian studied computer information systems at the State University of New York in Farmingdale. His father worked as an engineer for Northrop-Grumman and his mother was a professional beautician. Growing up, the youngest of four, a brother and  two sisters, he was very active in school basketball, football, track, gymnastics and all team-oriented sports. His parents encouraged active community involvement, while always teaching kindness, integrity and how to make good choices in life. He first worked as a volunteer Youth Pastor and helped lead numerous missionary trips to Ghana, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Teamwork and community service became compassion for him. 

Brian Broadway’s true passion for helping others in need. He learned to believe life is all about helping others to lead happy and healthy lives. After visiting his brother Chuck, the Clermont Police Chief,  he and his family decided to move to Clermont. His sisters, parents and entire set of 4 families moved to Florida at the same time.

Once in Clermont, they opened the Living Message Church. Allison shares Brian’s passions. She supervises all of the Living Message Church administrative work as well as all of the volunteers and children’s programs with their ‘Little Messengers’. She has developed an environment where children can learn, share and grow with fellowship. Their children’s ministry is for newborn infants and nursery to four years old.  

The Living Message Church has a strong youth ministry, known for its warm friendly non-denominational Christian environment. It offers two Sunday morning prayer services; the 8:30 AM service and the 10:00 AM Sunday service, which includes live music. Services are also offered online.

Coffee and snacks are provided. 

An important mission of the Living Message Church is to help the needy and homeless with guidance, counsel, food, shelter and a positive direction. The ministry owns and shares six donated RVs, 2 trailer homes, and a duplex for use by homeless families until they can get back on their feet. 

The ministry recently acquired several acres of land in Groveland for future development. It offers a Two Plus Two Program, where recipients are helped with pay for two months going backward as well as for two months going forward. A large motor coach with a few tents, serve as after-school education, hot meals distribution, and support services to homeless families living in old hotels and schools. This program offers job placement and career guidance support. It provides vouchers for the homeless to purchase clothes and more from the New Beginnings Thrift Store.

The Community Foundation of South Lake gave the ministry a series of grants totaling over $431,000 dollars over the past 5 years, which will enable them to expand their services and to acquire a Groveland property for Restore Lake. CFSLC Director Kathy Smith shares, “Our first grant to Find, Feed & Restore was provided by the Community Foundation Women’s Giving Alliance, a giving circle that has a mission to help women and children here in South Lake. Over the past 7 years, we have provided a number of grants and opportunities to help open a lot of doors for our community. I was happy to help connect Brian Broadway and FFR directly with donors and sponsors. We want to invest in this organization to show their wonderful and measurable impact. Brian Broadway and his team have successfully taken care of the homeless while helping the homeless become self-sufficient again, so they can responsibly return back to society.” She adds, “There are plenty of matching fund opportunities. One of our fund holders donated $50,000 with a challenge for others to donate. While Lake Restore still needs $175,000 to finish building out Phase One, that same group will match any other donation up to $50,000. Anyone can start a fund to work with us and to set up their own guidelines to help targeted community groups.”

Restore Lake is the ministry’s newest and most exciting project now under Phase One Construction. Formerly an AAA Sports Camp, Lake Restore is now being built as a model community that can be replicated in other areas to help the homeless, handicapped, disadvantaged individuals as well as single women in distress with their children. This facility will have 12 small 2-bedroom apartments. With a communal kitchen area, families will have a small home within their first big building. Many extra free services will be provided for residents, including free haircuts, dentistry and legal support. Others will be able to receive help with rent and mortgage assistance. A case manager, a mental health support team, healthcare and board security will be on site.

A Lake Restore grand opening and ribbon cutting are being planned for Fall 2022. Once Phase One is complete and open, Phase 2 will start by knocking down the old farmhouse to make way for modern new buildings and housing for women distressed by domestic violence. Besides the existing boating and fishing dock, there will eventually be a new playground for the children, a dog run and other recreational amenities. Phase Three will add a variance for 8 to 15 tiny homes near the front of the Restore Lake property.

Broadway notes, “If you want a free tour of the new Restore Lake property and facilities, just ask!”

The Live Well Foundation paid the $215,000 balance on this Restore Lake property, so the land is now totally paid for. Broadway notes “We partner with organizations that share the same mission and characteristics as we do. We remain thankful to the CFSLC, Live Well Foundation, Westgate Foundation, The Neighborhood Center, Harper Foundation, First United Methodist Church, our monthly donors and everyone who has helped.”

Brian Broadway add, “Our exegetical church family will live by the language, history and culture of the bible. My passion lies in our faith! Faith drives me! Our bible helps us to help people in need. We have grown with a great leadership team. Milestone Counseling & Family Life Counseling Center handles our Mental Health counseling. Shannon Herrera leads our team plus oversees all fundraising. Lisa Bishop manages our programs and Dennis Carter manages our operations.”  Pastor Brian writes the grants and directs the vision.

Pastor Broadway’s mission is far from complete. He plans to offer free counseling to those in prison.

Donations & Support Are Always Needed: Money and resources are still needed to help support the Find, Feed & Restore programs. Anyone interested in donating trailers, supplies or money for Find, Feed & Restore programs is encouraged to visit its website.https://www.findfeedrestore.com

For more information, contact Brian Broadway or Alison Broadway at the Living Message Church, 830 West Montrose Street, Clermont, FL 34711, Call: 866-236-2983.

 Email: Brian@FindFeedRestore.com. Visit: https:/LivingMessageChurch.com, https://www.facebook.com/LivingMessageFL/. For more information on Find, Feed & Restore, visit: https://www.facebook.com/FindFeedRestore/  and https://www.FindFeedRestore.com/our-work/.   

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