Justice Initiatives
Affordable Housing
Being unhoused is not a singular issue—it’s a complex system of gaps in housing, health, and opportunity. People with very low incomes, or mental health challenges face unique barriers to stable housing.
What you can do:
- Learn about very low-income housing options.
- Meet and listen to those who struggle to find or afford housing.
- Volunteer with our Open Arms or The Portico Community Breakfast
or with Love INC as a Resource Navigator.
- Volunteer at Open Arms.
- Directly advocate with our partner H.O.P.E. for increased funding, targeted rental assistance programs, and community-based housing projects.
- Volunteer with mobile outreach through Metropolitan Ministries to help with identification replacement, health integration, and mental health support.
H.O.P.E.
H.O.P.E. is a multi-issue, grassroots, faith-based community organization consisting of 29 multicultural and interfaith member congregations throughout Hillsborough County, Florida. Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality engages and trains community members to effectively act together to achieve long-term solutions to serious community problems impacting our families and neighbors.
What you can do:
- Listen to stories about issues that affect members of our community.
- Attend the convention as new issues are selected to be addressed in the coming year.
- Attend a research meeting to learn about the many facets of current issues and decede what action steps to recommend.
- Take part in a group to advocate for the change requested.
- Pray for the listening, research and actions teams as they work through the issues.
- Attend our next event. Your presence makes a difference!
Education
Our focus is on wrap around support for local schools. Early childhood readiness ensures every child is prepared to learn, grow, and thrive from day one.
What you can do:
- Partner with schools, families, and local organizations to raise attainment, and expand enrichment opportunities.
- Volunteer as a tutor or mentor at Dunbar Elementary.
- Participate in community listening sessions.
- Read to students or volunteer in the office at Chiaramonte Elementary.
- Contribute to book drives and the tiny libraries in lower income neighborhoods.
- Advocate for access to PreK programs.
- Join the support team for Cornerstone Family Ministries.
Public Transit
Hyde Park is advocating for public transportation solutions to connect workers to employers, low-income housing to job opportunities and reduce commute times. We’re advocating for fare-free transit networks that reduce barriers and boost neighborhood vitality. This also gives us an opporutinity to care for creation by reducing gas useage.
What you can do:
- Ride public transportation for work and leisure.
- Attend HART board meetings.
- Participate in community needs surveys.
- Advocate for community-driven route planning and better cross-town connections.
- Engage in data-driven evaluation of routes to ensure reliability and equity across neighborhoods.
- Join our transportation coalition with Transit Now.
Race and Reconciliation
Hyde Park stands with communities in recognizing the history of racial inquity in the Tampa area.
What you can do:
- Participate in community efforts to document and memorialize lynching victims through soil collection, memorials, and public programming.
- Partner with local organizations and community members to ensure respectful, accurate storytelling.
- Facilitate collaborative actions that promote anti-racism work within the community.
- Read and discuss relevant books, particularly those that discuss race.
Immigration
Immigration is a vast and complex issue. Hyde Park champions humane, consistent, and non-discriminatory practices in all immigration-related systems.
What you can do:
- Connect families to legal representation, and protections against family separation.
- Provide food for neighbors living in limbo of clear defensible status.
- Advocate for humane, clear procedures; partnerships with legal aid groups; and community education on rights and resources.
- Volunteer with immigration-focused programs, support legal aid funds, or participate in community listening sessions.
- Be trained for anti-bias, cultural competency.
