SEFFNER, Fla. — Last year, Alexia Shepard lost her job due to COVID-19 and she and her two children became homeless.
"We were in hotels for a while and then the money ran out and we had to go live in my car," said Shepard.
On Wednesday, Metropolitan Ministries partnered with the Super Bowl LV host committee to surprise Shepard and her kids with a brand new fully furnished apartment.
The committee also surprised her with more than $10,000 to help with nursing school and bills.
"I'm so blessed. I’m ready to rebuild and my kids are so happy. They’ve never had their own room. We used to all sleep in a room together," said Shepard.
The donation is part of the “Forever 55” Super Bowl grant that will help 20 Tampa Bay families transition out of homelessness.
"The Legacy 55 initiative is to make sure that years from now when the Super Bowl is long gone and is in another city, that people still feel like something special happened here," said Rob Higgins, Super Bowl LV Host Committee CEO.
