When David Lyons moved into the neighborhood in 2009, a neighbor welcomed him with a statement he has never forgotten: “If God was going to move into a neighborhood, this would be it.”

 

Years later, that same spirit of community led David to our important mission at Second Heart Homes.

 

After retiring as president of Coca-Cola’s Philippines and South Africa divisions, David dedicated himself to helping others achieve greater mental well-being. During the pandemic, fellow board member Jim introduced him to our organization. We had just opened our third home, and David decided to get involved. As he likes to joke, he thought he was investing in “a meaningful cause run by an amazing woman with a heart and purple hair.”

 

Second Heart Homes began when founder and Executive Director Megan Howell helped a man who had spent 25 years living on the streets with untreated schizophrenia move into a home and rebuild his life. What started with helping one person grew into a model proving that when people receive permanent housing, individualized support, and unconditional love, lasting transformation is possible.

 

Our model is intentionally different. We receive no government funding, allowing us to remain flexible, innovative, and entirely community supported. Every resident receives individualized case management from a highly trained social worker who helps them identify and achieve short- and long-term goals through accountability and meaningful relationships.

 

Whether someone donates $25,000 or $25, every dollar helps us purchase homes and provide the direct case management that offers a permanent solution to homelessness and a path to self-sufficiency instead of suffering and cycling through emergency shelters and systems.

 

Today, David serves as Chair of our Board of Directors, but titles do not capture why he remains so committed. He often says supporting Second Heart Homes is unlike any other charitable experience he has had because it is not just a donation and a receipt. You build relationships and witness lives change. You experience the love and get back more than you give.

 

That philosophy matters because homelessness remains one of Sarasota’s greatest challenges. In 2005, our community made national headlines after being described as “the meanest city in America” toward people experiencing homelessness. While painful, it challenged many of us to ask a different question: What if we responded with solutions instead of judgment?

 

Today, thanks to private donors and community members, Second Heart Homes has grown to 13 permanent supportive homes serving nearly 80 men and women. Our 14th home is underway and will expand our capacity to 86 residents. Every person we serve is treated as a neighbor with potential, not a problem to solve.

 

I’m especially grateful to neighbors like David Lyons, our supporters Lathrop and her family, and our friends at Siesta Key Media LLC, whose commitment to strengthening our community extends far beyond this neighborhood. They are helping Second Heart Homes residents write new stories on their own terms.

 

If you would like to be part of that story, I invite you to join our solution by making a gift. Your kind heart can help provide housing, support, and hope for someone rebuilding their life while giving your neighbor David and his family another reason to be grateful.

 

941-201-9353

Megan Howell