Just two weeks before Christmas, six brand-new housing units located behind the New Beginnings Thrift Store in Clermont are about to become the starting point for families who need it most. We’re talking homeless mothers and their school-aged children willing to commit to a yearlong program built on faith, education and real-life skills.

For New Beginnings, this moment has been years in the making.

Jeremy Elliott, spokesman for the organization, stood in front of the units Monday and couldn’t hide his excitement in front of community leaders who came to support their efforts and have a look inside the homes for the last time before they are occupied. He shared how when he steps inside any one of the units, he can see in his mind’s eye the families who will be living there, their expressions and who they will become in Christ through this biblical program.

“We’re grateful with partners like you all and a city that stands behind us,” he says. “We’re just elated to see who God is going to bring and the transformation that is going to take forth in their lives.”

Inside each unit is everything a family needs to begin again, including beds, furniture, a kitchen, even crockpots and 2026 calendars donated days ago. What’s missing on purpose are TVs. Instead, mothers will spend their days in classes, job training, Bible study, nutrition lessons and hands-on parenting instruction. Their children, ages 5–17, will have after-school help, meals and a safe and comfortable place to lay their heads each night.

New Beginnings co-founder Linda Smith says the design was intentional. 

“We wanted them to start from scratch,” she says. “We wanted them to learn what it is like to have a home that’s yours. A home where you cook in, do the cleaning and manage. It’s a full program of life skills.”

Overall, the program is strict by design. No smoking, no dating and every resident must be ready to work and volunteer at the thrift store and take classes daily. But Linda says that’s why the model works.

“We put a customized program together that we can modify to fit certain needs, since all of the individuals who applied have become homeless for different reasons,” she says. “Our program teaches them to be independent. They’re learning how to gain their dignity back and move back into the community.”

The project also drew strong support from the Live Well Foundation of South Lake. Spokeswoman Donna Kirtland says the organization saw the value immediately. 

“Live Well Foundation is a philanthropic organization that supports health and wellness initiatives in our community,” Donna says. “They’re changing lives and residents in our community. They’re providing wraparound services, everything from mental health to feeding and there’s education that comes with this, so it checks a lot of amazing boxes and the return is the social good. It’s beautiful. It really is.”

Clermont Mayor Tim Murry says he sees the project a very beneficial and much needed addition to the community.

“People get to live here for 12 months basically free and all they have to do is agree to go through financing and budget training, learn life skills and be self-sufficient again,” Tim says.

The homes were built at a cost of $1.5 million, with furnishings, décor and supplies sponsored by The Live Well Foundation of South Lake Fund at the Community Foundation of South Lake, the Smith Family, Harper Family Charitable Foundation Inc., Crossroads Impact Church, Shelly & Ally Charitable Fund and The Crossing Church.

For co-founder Steve Smith, anticipating families finally moving in is emotional. He also says three housing units using the same concept are being built in Groveland.

“That’s what makes me feel good,” he says. “We love what we do.”

New Beginnings hopes to welcome its first residents at the Clermont units by Dec. 15, just in time to give them the greatest Christmas gift and something they haven’t had in a long while: a place to call home.