Second Heart Homes Inc

The mission of Second Heart Homes, Inc. is to provide permanent housing solutions to the homeless and mental health population through housing, support and, of course, love. Services are designed to engage clients in learning how to cope with their issues, develop structure, skills and housing.

We use the combination of providing housing plus providing the program support needed by each individual to maximize quality of life.

Our services are based upon setting and achieving personal goals for each of our clients that aim for self-sufficiency and developing a true respect for themselves and others.

Second Heart Homes, Inc.'s strategy for successfully housing clients who have experienced chronic homelessness and/or mental illness is made up of many moving parts. First, we currently provide safe housing through 2 purchased homes and 1 leased property.
The Second Heart Program is a supportive housing program that revives dignity by providing a unique set of services tailored specifically to the needs of each individual.

The Second Heart Program enhances quality of life by providing:

• Housing
• Daily Support
• Mentoring
• Workshops
• Time Management
• Resume Building
•Computer Literacy
• Job-seeking
• Budgeting
• Cleaning
• Art Instruction
• Cooking
• Community Engagement

All these elements come together to create a purpose-driven community that gets people off of the streets and into a caring home setting.” The Second Heart Program creates the support system that has been lacking for these individuals to have a chance to move forward with their lives.

Second Heart Homes has a robust board, years of previous experience, dedicated staff and a team of very committed volunteers from diverse backgrounds.

Megan Howell MS, Executive Director and Secretary.
Megan Howell holds a Master’s degree in Science in Psychology. Her background experience is with developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and mental illness. She has completed extensive comparative work in the way of multi-cultural issues surrounding homelessness in Japan. Additionally, she teaches Origami for behavioral disorders, has extensive service industry experience, an art background, and property management experience.

David Welle, MBA, Chairman of the Board and Director
Currently operates an investment firm that invests in and manages commercial properties. Prior to this, he co-founded CSL International, a boutique management consulting firm that provides market, financial, and operating consulting services to owners and managers of sports-related developments. He also is a former partner with Coopers and Lybrand, one of the two firms that merged to form PricewaterhouseCoopers. David holds an MBA from the University of Denver and a Bachelors degree from Moorhead State University.

Kurt Bonner, MA, Treasurer and Director
Currently working in Corporate Finance for a firm on the S&P 500 that operates businesses that design and develop software and engineered products. Prior to this, he worked in investor relations for FinTech companies; LendingTree and Ally Financial. Kurt has a MA. in Economics and a BS in Finance (magna cum laude) from Old Dominion University.

Leslie Travis BS, Director
BS, Psychology – UNC, Chapel Hill, NC, MA, Psychology – Berry College, Rome GA. Trained as Family Court Mediator; Certified Parenting Educator; Director/Owner of Professional Supervised Visitation & Exchange program; 12th Judicial Circuit, Florida; 12th Judicial Circuit Family Court Guardian Ad Litem; 12th Judicial Circuit Dependency Court Guardian Ad Litem. Trained recovery specialist.

Jim Doyle
Director
Jim has been active in finding solutions to the issue of the chronic homeless population in Sarasota since 2015.
He’s the Founder and retired CEO of JDA.media, a Sarasota based company that provides sales training and revenue development services to media companies throughout the United States. He was also a partner in Gocom Media which owned TV stations in Illinois and California.

The Second Heart Homes team is committed to professionalism and helping clients live the lives that they deserve. We also utilize our robust volunteer program and have a team of case managers.

Since commencing operations as a non-profit on January 1st 2020, we have purchased 6 homes, that are all debt free and have an additional 7th home with the opportunity to purchase it.

We have developed a skills training program to prepare our clients for the work force and enhance their overall quality of life. Our clients are learning computer literacy, financial literally, interpersonal skills, self-care, art instruction and more. They are constantly striving to learn and achieve more and are even consistent volunteers in our community.

To date, we have removed over 25,000 nights of homelessness off the street. Since January of 2020, 10 of our clients have completed a dual program that is a jail diversion program for individuals with mental illness. 5 clients have successfully gone on to their own apartments and over 15 clients have obtained employment or benefits. Our clients are volunteering and giving back to the community and even mentoring newer clients who were in similar situations.

What’s Next
Our goal is to purchase a new home every 6 months. Each home translates to 6 people off the streets and into the lives the deserve. We are looking forward to opening up our first women's home as we continue to expand our mission and our team.