The Source, a Christian-based nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives and addressing homelessness, hosted this year’s Hidden Faces event at the Richardson Center, where Tony Zorbaugh, Source executive director, told the packed crowd that he wanted the focus of the evening to be on humanity.
“A night where we remind each other that behind every number, there’s a name. Behind every statistic, there’s a story. Behind every face, there’s a soul that matters deeply to God,” said Zorbaugh.
Too often, he said, the homeless are the hidden faces of our community that we pass by, rather than seeing them as neighbors.
“At the Source, we’re on a mission to change that,” said Zorbaugh.
The Source has doubled in size over the past year and has added two properties – a triplex in downtown Vero Beach, and a 30-acre project that will offer both affordability and desirable amenities.
For more than two decades, he said, the Source has been a place of compassion, community and change, offering stability, a sense of belonging and hope to its members, along with the knowledge that they are not forgotten.
“We call this event Hidden Faces because homelessness hides people, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. It hides their dreams, it hides their voices, and it hides their worth,” said Zorbaugh.
“We help them move from despair to dignity, from invisibility to visibility, from hopelessness to healing.”
Jade Alexander, director of Neighbor Services at Dignity Ranch, said they have been able to house 12 individuals since May, stressing that these are people with names, dreams, and incredible resilience, who have survived trauma, loss and setbacks.
“They are the hidden faces of courage, perseverance and faith,” said Alexander, noting that theirs is not a charity or a shelter.
“We are a social movement, a community that believes the answer to homelessness isn’t just housing, it’s relationships. The Source isn’t just changing lives. We’re changing how the world sees the people behind those lives.”
Their transformative Dignity Buses, which provide a safe sleeping space for some 60 people each night in Vero Beach, have also been taking the rest of the country by storm.
Guest speakers Eric Gray and Carla Cox, Christian Service Center executive director and operations manager, respectively, spoke about the two most recent busses, purchased by the City of Orlando. The city fully funded the operation of the buses for three years, with one-third of the funding placing people in apartments.
“It’s affordable and it works,” said Gray. “This is a great project for us, but it would absolutely not have been possible without the lesson and the example being started here in Vero Beach.”
Joanne Balshi spoke about Dignity Smiles, a dental restoration program that she and her husband Dr. Tom Balshi pioneered to restore the confidence, health and dignity of qualified individuals.
“I can tell you that there is no greater shot of dignity to a human life than the rebirth of a smile,” she said.
Hannah Hite, executive director of the Homeless Children’s Foundation, which annually provides afterschool and summer enrichment activities to some 500 children, ages 6 weeks and up, spoke of the high numbers of homeless children in the county. Among them are more than 650 children identified by the school district, which does not include those under age 5.
While HCF and the Source have regularly partnered, she said they were recently able to amplify that impact after HCF was approached with the donation of three housing units. She arranged for the Source to close on the triplex, with HCF as the referring agency.
“Thus, whenever a unit becomes available, the Homeless Children’s Foundation is tasked with identifying a family to move in. Collectively, our agencies support the family without duplicating efforts,” said Hite, introducing the first residents, a mother and her five children.
“This is the power of partnership. This is what can happen when people with a shared vision and the willingness to participate together, come around and meet and are willing to hear each other’s stories,” said Hite.
Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey spoke about the Community Works program, in which Source members earn a paycheck as they work to clean and beautify our community.
Before showing a video in which Source clients shared their own stories, Jonathan Orozco, Source development director, reiterated that the Source is a movement built on compassion, dignity, and the belief that everyone deserves a chance to start again.
For more information, visit IAmTheSource.org.
Photos by Amy Saville
