Charity for the people you care about.

In the summer of 1993, my life completely fell apart. Within

18 months, I lost fifteen of my loved ones, including my mom and a man who was

like a dad to me. My life went off course, no matter how hard I tried to keep

it together. I had so much undealt with grief that surged on the inside of me,

leaving me deeply depressed and hopeless.

Over the next two and a half years, I was in and out of the hospital. I bounced from

job to job when I could and moved about three times trying to find a "landing zone,"

but without success. In 1996, I ended up homeless, living on the streets of

Southern California. There were no shelters available to me because I fit none

of the categories—I was not abused, I did not use drugs, I had not been in

jail, I had no kids, and to top it off, I was a registered nurse, too broken to

go back to work. But, in God's mercy, He found a suitable shelter for me, and

from there, I was re-dedicated to the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit and

water baptized in a matter of months, and later move down to South Florida. In

those days of early healing, I spoke to the Lord about helping others in the

same situation I was in. He gave me Restoring Hope to The Hopeless, a program

that will prevent and end homelessness. And from there, the dream of Stephen's

Pantry was born— the timing just had to be right.

By the end of 2021, we served some of Broward County's most

hungry, hurting, and homeless for six years. It all started Friday, November 6,

2015. My friend, John Soto, and I handed out the pantry’s very first meal on

the corner of Dixie Highway and Polk Street in Hollywood.

During the same year our attention was drawn to the homeless in the beach communities who needed help. We began providing food for them on a weekly basis, and little by little, the Lord brought our attention to various areas where the homeless are scattered, and we continue to alter our driving route to include them as best we can.

"In loving memory"

The relentless warrior John Soto was instrumental in helping

Stephen's Pantry serve hungry people.