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Council hears update on Hidden Voices program supporting returning citizens, trauma counseling and tiny‑homes placements
Summary
PERC reported that Hidden Voices now supports roughly 50 active clients with comprehensive case management, trauma‑informed counseling and workforce or tiny‑homes placements, part of a four‑year initiative expanded after storms and rising gun‑violence needs.
The St. Petersburg City Council on June 12 heard an update on Hidden Voices, a four‑year community initiative led by PERC (Partnership for Empowerment, Restoration and Community) that provides trauma‑informed case management, mental‑health counseling, housing navigation, neighborhood cleanup and workforce assistance for returning citizens and residents impacted by violence and disasters.
Lede: Hidden Voices has evolved into a ‘‘trauma‑informed, community‑driven initiative’’ that PERC says has reached more than 3,000 individuals and families since inception and currently supports roughly 50 active clients with case management and wraparound services.
Nut graf: Council member Deborah Fig Sanders and PERC staff described a program that began as a grassroots gun‑violence response and expanded into broader recovery work during Hurricane Idalia and related needs, including workforce readiness, tiny‑homes placements and peer‑led counseling.
What the city heard: - Esther Saini, director of programs and staff development at PERC, gave the report and said the program now offers ongoing case management, street outreach teams and peer counseling. She said a recent surge in need after hurricanes led to distribution of resources, mass intake, and the establishment of a community hub at a historic Sixteenth Street site. - Staff described partnerships with property managers who are identifying housing openings, and said recent temporary placements (e.g., Bayou Court) enabled clients to reunite with their children. - Program staff and partners said they are building a peer‑led counseling program and a ‘‘neighborhood cleanup with purpose’’ street team that combines workforce training with cleanup and outreach. - Council and PERC staff discussed second‑chance hiring and workforce pathways; program leaders noted examples of participants who moved from street‑team roles into paid positions with partner employers.
Why it matters: Hidden Voices is an example of a locally driven recovery and reentry service that stitches mental‑health supports, housing navigation and workforce training together. Council members framed the program as central to the city’s strategy for resilience and recovery in neighborhoods heavily impacted by storms and violence.
Council discussion and next steps: Council members praised PERC’s outreach and asked for continued coordination with RISE (youth violence prevention) and with economic/workforce partners to scale summer jobs and on‑the‑job training for participants with barriers to employment. Council members asked staff to pursue funding and positions for community navigators and to continue efforts to coordinate hurricane mitigation funding with the program’s tiny‑homes and workforce initiatives.
Ending: PERC asked council for sustained attention to funding and shelter/housing pathways; members said they will continue to pursue cross‑agency and grant options to expand placements and workforce pathways.
