VERO BEACH — The homeless have enough problems. Making them stand in a meal line that conjures up a Depression-era bread line and having them eat in a drab soup kitchen setting was not bolstering their self-confidence, Robin Diaz figured.
So, Diaz, executive director of The Source, a Vero homeless center and kitchen a block west of U.S. 1, enlisted staffer Tony Zorbaugh to research “re-doing the way we do food.”
Zorbaugh hit pay dirt. Director of development at The Source, Zorbaugh landed a TV network design show winner who pledged to redesign the organization’s 2,000-square-foot dining area for free.
Jennifer Bertrand, winner of the season three “Design Star” competition on the HGTV network, plans to be at The Source later this month to start redesigning the dining room into a place where the homeless can eat family-style in a restaurant-like setting. The Source serves about 130-150 meals a day.
“We don’t want to be just another soup kitchen,” said Chris Desizlets, The Source case manager. “We don’t want people to feel stuck here.”
Bertrand’s design will include everything from new flooring and paint colors to lighting, with the aim of debuting the dining room makeover by the end of summer. She said the remodel could be valued in the $100,000 range, but she can’t give an exact estimate until she eyeballs the project in person later this month.
“The environment can affect how you feel,” Bertrand said, noting groups serving homeless clients typically don’t have the resources to improve the looks of their dining rooms.
Bertrand is a member of the International Design Guild, a group of artisans and interior designers that has a “Design for a Difference” program to help nonprofits such as The Source with makeover designs.
“We want to make [the dining room] so much more with new flooring and paint so that when you walk in, it will be a fresh new start for all the individuals,” Diaz said.
She said Bertrand described the new look as “happy chic with an industrial edge.”
Bertrand will collaborate with five local Vero Beach designers on The Source dining room, which can hold 60 at capacity. And Bertrand told The Source she plans on “bringing other cool TV designer guests.”
Two local construction companies, RCL Development and Passage Island Construction, are pitching in, Diaz said. Trinity Episcopal Church will help, too.
“We have to depend on the Vero Beach community to make this amazing,” Bertrand said.