ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nowadays, Kay Williams needs more than just a day job.
The St. Petersburg mom has four side hustles, too. On weekends, she sells fried food and baked desserts. She runs a party rental business. She also runs a booth from her front yard offering spiritual products like incense.
“A lot of these incenses — they have great intentions behind them,” she said Friday afternoon as she manned the booth.
Despite the grind, monthly rent is still challenging, especially in St. Pete.
“I grew up when rent was like $500 for a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment,” she said. “But fast-forward to being in my thirties, rent is almost like $3,000.”
The rising cost of almost everything has made the native Floridians consider moving.
“We’re always looking into what states are most affordable and welcoming of families,” she said.
It’s a familiar story to Mo Franklin, the broker/owner of Franklin & Assoc. Realty.
“It is tough,” he said. “You know, I worry about my kids. I worry about people who still haven’t been able to take that first step.”
So, months ago, he got an idea. What if he could bring together a room full of people willing to help?
Next Tuesday, he will attempt to do that with the first-ever “No Place Like Home” community event in south St. Pete.
“We tried to take a real 360° approach to affordable housing,” he said
He and partners from banks, local governments, and non-profits will work to connect those who show up to the free event with resources they might not know about — whether they’re looking to buy or rent a home, improve their credit scores, or save on their utility bills.
“All of these things help for sustainability, and all of these things help for people to be able to acquire savings to be able to move forward and improve their situations,” he said.
The event runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Enoch Davis Center at 1111 18th Ave. S. in St. Petersburg. Registration is not required. Read more details at this link.
No Place Like Home is a community event that helps gather all available resources regarding affordable housing offered to the St. Pete CRA, and will help direct residents toward those resources.
— St. Petersburg, FL (@StPeteFL) October 19, 2023
Visit https://t.co/t3Sl7XCoQd for more info or to become a sponsor. pic.twitter.com/3aZElUZwKe
To Williams, it’s a great idea.
“I want to go and see what is available,” she said.
Any help would be nice as she continues to work multiple jobs with her kids in mind.
“I’m the creator for them, so I have to create and make it happen,” Williams said.
