Neighbors say homeless people kicked dog, defecated in yard and dove in dumpster near non-profit
![<i>WFTS via CNN Newsource</i><br/>The Florida Dream Center is a non-profit organization aimed at supporting and revitalizing Pinellas County’s Lealman community.](https://kesq.b-cdn.net/2025/01/WFTSBlurredHomeless.jpg)
The Florida Dream Center is a non-profit organization aimed at supporting and revitalizing Pinellas County’s Lealman community.
By Adam Walser
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LEALMAN, Florida (WFTS) — The Florida Dream Center is a non-profit organization aimed at supporting and revitalizing Pinellas County’s Lealman community.
But neighbors tell the ABC Action News I-Team they believe the presence of the organization’s headquarters in their residential neighborhood is causing quality of life issues.
“My grandparents talk about people… oh, it’s now, third, fourth generation,” said Lealman resident Jeremy Heath. “That is the unique thing about Lealman is so many people have lived here forever. 30, 40, 50,60 years.”
But since the Florida Dream Center moved into the neighborhood’s old fire station, Heath says there have been unwelcome newcomers.
“They’re just hanging out outside the building”
“My wife was walking our dog at night. A woman walked up without a single word, kicked our dog in the face and started yelling at my wife,” Heath said.
“If you go down to the Dream Center, they’re just hanging out outside the building. There’s trash all around the place,” neighbor Scott Dilley said.
“They’ve camped out with tents in the back area near their dumpster,” said Brittany Pagan, who lives across the street from the Florida Dream Center.
“For some reason, this has become like a hub,” said John Jones, Jr.
He lives about a block away and says he sees transient people riding bicycles in the neighborhood daily.
“There’s a reason why. Because they give everything away over here. And that’s what they do, is they have everyone come here,” said Kyle Witkoski, who lives directly behind the Florida Dream Center.
Witkoski says people line up to receive free food donated by local grocery stores and businesses.
“This is a community asset”
The Florida Dream Center’s website says the organization distributed 1.8 million pounds of food in 2023, which breaks down to 5,000 pounds per day.
Board member Greg Schaeffer recently took over as interim CEO.
He says the organization does so much more than feed the homeless.
“This is a community asset. This community asset is first and foremost for the community,” Schaeffer said.
He says the organization also assists with workforce training, runs an Adopt-a-Block program that helps neighbors maintain their yards, checks on elderly residents who live alone, and adopts families in need.
“25 percent of the food comes out of this building. The rest is mobilized,” Schaeffer said. “We’re taking it to where the need is. So not everyone is coming to this building.”
But Witkoski says some who do come to the Florida Dream Center for free food end up staying.
“It’s a safety concern”
“I’ve had them defecate in my yard, they’ve knocked on my door asking for money and all sorts of things. We’ve actually had some wander into our backyard when we’ve had gatherings,” he said.
“It’s a safety concern. Safety for my children and for our neighbor’s children. Our community was doing perfectly well without this center,” Brittany Pagan said.
Pagan says she won’t go outside at night with her children, who are two and nine years old.
Her security camera captured video of a stranger hopping over her fence to hide from deputies.
“He hid out in the back of our yard. Here he is peeking over the top to see if the cops are gone,” Pagan said.
Pagan shot a photo of people diving into an open dumpster, which she says attracts mosquitos, rats and raccoons.
Another picture shows clients after business hours.
“They’re sleeping in front of the building. They’ll put up tents. They’ll put up umbrellas,” Pagan said.
Building purchased with COVID relief funds
The non-profit bought the old firehouse from the county in a complicated transaction that involved shuffling $1.8 million in federal COVID relief funds between different accounts.
“Myself and others on the advisory committee were very concerned with this transaction,” Heath said.
Records show sheriff’s deputies and EMS responded to the Florida Dream Center 195 times in the past four years.
Neighbors say they’ve seen a spike in crime.
“They take packages off people’s porch. Whatever they can get, if nobody’s looking, they’ll try to take it,” Dilley said.
Heath says he’s concerned about vehicle break-ins and vandalism.
Schaeffer says it’s important for neighbors who have issues to let them know.
“So many of the community will pick up the phone and say hey, I’ve got this going on, I’ve got that going on, I saw this. And we look into it. And sometimes it’s unfounded. Sometimes it’s something we do need to bring to the sheriff’s office,” Schaeffer said.
CRA aimed at improving Lealman
Pinellas County established the Lealman Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) in 2015.
A CRA keeps tax revenues within the community with the goal of improving quality of life, enhancing economic growth and preserving the community’s unique character.
Other successful CRAs include Tampa’s Channelside District and St. Petersburg’s Intown Development District, which includes St. Pete’s vibrant downtown and Tropicana Field.
“The expectation and hope is that as the community lifts itself up, there’s more tax money to go around in the community. At least that’s the hope,” Heath said.
Heath is on the CRA Advisory Committee, which recommended funding renovations to Lealman Park.
“They’ve dumped CRA money into hosting events and making this an attractive place for this to be a hub where the community actually wants to spend time to get to know their neighbor,” Heath said.
Instead, the park has become a different kind of hub.
“The homeless people are over there every day. They go away in the ambulance. Drugs. They trash the park. They trash the neighborhood,” Dilley said.
We found doses of Narcan beside an unopened box of discounted doughnuts on a picnic table.
It’s not clear who left them, but Pagan says they shouldn’t be where children play.
“I shouldn’t have to worry about my nine-year-old saying Mommy what is this?” she said.
The Florida Dream Center isn’t likely going away.
“We find a need and we fill the need. And this building is just a way we can do that,” Schaeffer said.
“We just need a peaceful and safe environment and unfortunately, they’re not delivering on that,” Pagan said.
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