Barbara was struggling.

A rent increase forced Barbara and her young son out of their apartment. They became “hotel homeless” – stuck paying to live in extended stay hotels while trying to find a

permanent home.

The uncertainty and disruption of not having a real “home” made it more challenging for Barbara to care for her son, who is neurodivergent and on the autism spectrum. Barbara’s parents had died and her husband was overseas, so her support system was gone.

Then Barbara lost her job. That put their temporary home at risk. Even worse, Barbara worried about putting food on the table.

Throughout these mounting challenges, Barbara asked for help. But navigating the network of local aid agencies was confusing and taking too long. She had a child to feed and needed a place they could call home.

Then Barbara found “Nina’s Place.”

Nina’s Place is a free community market and food pantry in Deerfield Beach. It’s one of the community-driven wellness initiatives coordinated by Deerfield Beach Community Cares, a nonprofit dedicated to creating “an oasis of health and hope.”

At Nina’s Place, Barbara picked from fresh produce, meat and other staples to help meet her grocery needs. And Barbara found more than food at Nina’s Place. She found caring people who asked how she was doing and checked on her when she stayed away. They did more than hand out food. They got to know Barbara and she got to know them. When the Deerfield Beach Community Cares team learned about Barbara’s housing challenges, they helped her family move into an affordable apartment.

Helping Barbara is one example of Deerfield Beach Community Cares’ holistic approach to uplifting the community it serves. Help for young mothers, youth mental health support and even community bike clubs are among the ways Deerfield Beach Community Cares promotes “wellness.”

“We exist and operate based on the principle of collective impact, responding to the needs of our residents and neighbors,” President & CEO Joel Smith said.

The Community Foundation of Broward is a partner with Deerfield Beach Community Cares in this work to connect people to opportunities to make their lives better. It’s an example of how, since 2020, we have invested more than $1.5 million in grantmaking support to foster four “Health and Resource Hubs” across Broward. The hubs offer different, community-based opportunities to help people tackle needs today and shape a brighter future.

“Access to healthy food, health care and other critical resources is essential to healthy and thriving communities,” said Sheri Brown Grosvenor, Community Foundation Vice President of Community Impact. “Thanks to support from Community Foundation fundholders, our Health and Resource Hubs are empowering more people to overcome obstacles to healthier living.”

How ‘Hubs’ Help

Lack of health care services and limited access to healthy food are common problems for neighborhoods already struggling with economic hardships, racial injustice and other barriers to success. As a result, life expectancy in Broward can differ, zip code to zip code.

That’s why support for “Healthy and Thriving Communities” is one of the Community Foundation’s grantmaking and leadership focus areas. We partner with philanthropists, frontline nonprofits, community leaders and residents to improve health equity and well-being in neighborhoods across Broward.

The four “Health & Resource Hubs” expand a culture of health and opportunity to more populations and communities in Broward. The “hubs” are Community Foundation-le collaborations with nonprofits, businesses, local governments, faith-based organizations and residents striving to overcome health inequities and make healthy living resources more readily available. We do it with grants supporting mobile food pantries, health screenings, increased access to mental health services, after-school programs, elder care, school supply giveaways and much more.

We started six years ago in South Broward, partnering with the nonprofit Urban Health Partnership to create solutions for accessing healthy food in Dania Beach, Hollywood, West Park, Miramar, Hallandale Beach and other nearby areas. That included bringing mobile food pantries to neighborhoods that lacked affordable places to buy healthy food, expanding community gardens and bolstering food pantry storage capacity. We also collaborated with Memorial Healthcare System to provide free breast cancer screenings and other health services through a “mobile primary care center,” able to drive into neighborhoods and provide curbside, life-saving care.

We expanded to Lauderhill, teaming up with the city to support its “health & prosperity hub.” That included support for the city’s community paramedics program, which aims to reduce emergency room visits by providing scheduled, in-home health care and help navigating the health care system for people with recurring non-emergency issues. The hub also championed the city’s entrepreneurship program to help grow small businesses and coordinated “Lauderhill Peace Week,” an anti-violence community outreach effort that included a resource fair, peace walk, summit and a service day.

The Pompano Beach hub started with targeted support for uplifting the students and community served by C. Robert Markham Elementary. Back-to-school kickoff celebrations included giving away backpacks, school supplies and hundreds of bags of groceries as well as providing bus registration, free health checkups and connections to community resources to help families throughout the year. In addition, new “Winterfest” celebrations during the holiday season featured more free health screenings, groceries and toy giveaways. Amid this increased community support, student performance improved, with Markham Elementary’s state rating improving from a “D” grade in 2023 to a “B” in 2024.

To expand on this success, we are partnering with other community leaders to encourage the state to designate Pompano Beach as a Florida Children’s Initiative community. Modeled after the acclaimed Harlem Children’s Zone, this public-private partnership would invest state and private dollars in innovative, community-based programs serving at-risk children and their families.

Championing ‘Wellness’

In the Deerfield Beach hub, the Community Foundation’s three-year grant for Deerfield Beach Community Cares launched the Deerfield Beach Youth Development and Leadership Academy. The academy’s programs foster resilience, confidence and purpose for children struggling at school, dealing with problems at home and facing other challenges. In the afternoons, kids can come to the academy to learn and have fun in a safe, nurturing environment. Tutoring helps students get back on track at school. Mentoring offers guidance for life beyond the classroom. Playing games and participating in the arts keeps kids active and engaged. Cooking sessions teach a valuable life skill, while sneaking in a science lesson about how eating vegetables fuels their bodies. They even practice “mindful yoga,” a social-emotional learning technique that helps them reduce stress and manage their emotions.

A subtle sign of the academy’s success recently revealed itself, way up in the nosebleed seats at the Miami Heat’s arena. The academy took a fun field trip to see the Heat play and midway through the game, one of the kids from Deerfield Beach said a bad word.

Foul language raining down from boisterous fans is nothing new, even when it comes from a child. But a surprising thing happened after the cussing. Unprompted, the Deerfield Beach kid turned to his chaperone and apologized. Among its many lessons, the academy encourages kids to communicate without cussing, and this academy member knew he could do better.

“It’s about navigating the challenges, the traumas of life,” said Joel Smith, President & CEO of Deerfield Beach Community Cares. “We are building ways to have a better arc of wellness.”

With the Community Foundation grant to support the youth program, Deerfield Beach Community Cares has been able to focus more resources on bolstering other efforts to champion

community “wellness.” More than 500 people in Deerfield Beach have received free health screenings and referrals to medical services. The hub is increasing residents’ access to mental health services. And Nina’s Place enables more than 800 families to make sure they have enough food on their tables.

Three years ago, Barbara was among the first to be helped by the free healthy food available at Nina’s Place. She’s still involved with Deerfield Beach Community Cares, but now Barbara is part of the team uplifting others. She helps lead distribution of diapers, hygiene products and baskets of household goods provided to families in need. Sharing her experiences is part of how she empowers others to live healthier lives.

“It’s my new purpose,” Barbara said. “I’ve gone through a lot and I’m now able to help my community and neighbors.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR SPECIAL PODCAST EPISODE ABOUT THE HEALTH AND RESOURCE HUBS.

Find out how you can partner with the Community Foundation of Broward to help transform lives and create a lasting impact. Contact Vice President Kelly Marmol at kmarmol@cfbroward.org or 954-761-9503.