Barbara Green and her husband, the late Rev. Otis C. “Preacher” Green, began their mission to end homelessness in the 1960’s at the Clearwater church, Everybody’s Tabernacle, where Otis was the pastor. A family with three children within the congregation was in need of a home, after the father got hurt on the job - at the time, workmen’s compensation didn’t exist. Barb and Otis allowed the family to live in a house they owned rent free, while they got back on their feet, this took about 4 years. Word spread about the charitable acts of the church and soon Barb and Otis were running a 100 bed emergency shelter program, providing food and housing to those in need. In 1986, HEP became a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization named the Homeless Emergency Project (HEP, Inc.) to better meet the immediate needs of a growing number of homeless individuals and families in Pinellas County. HEP's Mission is to provide homeless and low-income individuals and families, including veterans, with housing, food, clothing, and support services necessary to obtain self-sufficiency and improved quality of life. The purpose of HEP is to break the cycle of homelessness and to be the last homeless shelter an individual or family ever has to access.Although Preacher has passed, today, Barb is just as committed to helping individuals break the cycle of homelessness as she was when HEP first began. Barb works in the development department of HEP, after stepping down as President and CEO in 2013. She has a superior standing in the community and has been awarded numerous accolades for her devotion to the local homeless community. In 2016, HEP changed its name to the Homeless Empowerment Program to empower residents, staff, and community members, and also to represent HEP as a comprehensive social service agency. Today HEP’s 8 acre campus, still located in Clearwater, has 358 beds which serves more than 400 Veterans, families, and individuals daily.