Shelter From The Storm

When Sam Gil thinks of recent Camillus House success stories, a young man named Carlos comes to mind.

Earlier this year, Carlos came to Camillus House, one of Miami’s largest full-service centers for the poor and homeless, after living on the streets and battling addiction. It was only after he was robbed and severely beaten that he learned about the nonprofit.

“Carlos was a young man in his 20s who came to us in need,” says Gil, senior vice president of operations and marketing for Camillus House. “He went through our culinary education track, got a job at a very upscale Coral Gables restaurant and is doing very well.”

Such success stories would not be possible if The Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd pontifical institute hadn’t established a soup kitchen in 1960. That modest beginning has grown into one of South Florida’s longest-running charities, offering an array of services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment; emergency, transitional and permanent housing; and, through a sister organization, social and health care services.

“Most people think of us as supplying food and clothing,” Gil says. “We do that, but we do a lot more. I’m not aware of any other organization that offers the unique services we do.”

Camillus House – named for Saint Camillus de Lellis, the Patron Saint of Nursing – works with an array of vulnerable populations, including the homeless, the severely mentally ill and victims of human trafficking. Last year, it supplied 180,000 free meals, coordinated 17,000 clothing exchanges, offered 15,000 showers and housed 1,100 people on 10 properties.

“We can’t do this alone,” Gil says. “We have 2,500 volunteers help us out, and some of the area’s top employers work with us. It costs a lot of money to run an organization like this, and we rely heavily on support from our community.”

Camillus House has a high success rate for all of its programs, including a 67 percent graduation rate for those seeking substance abuse treatment.

“We are looking for the lost,” he says. “Help isn’t something many of them want initially. It requires patience, but we see incredible results.” O

For more information, call 305-374-1065 or visit camillus.org.