Clearwater nonprofit helps houseless get resources

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health estimates this year that nearly 30,000 people are houseless in Florida.

That number has slightly decreased from last year.

The Pinellas County Point in Time Count has shown a similar trend.

Hydrate the Homeless, a nonprofit, is helping to make sure people in need are cared for.

“It’s always a struggle trying to figure out how many people we’re going to have coming,” said Carla Mogan, president and founder of Hydrate the Homeless.

The effort began three years ago when Mogan and her neighbor, Mel Swartout, were looking for a way to give back. They started by walking around Largo Central Park, where they found people in need. 

“I took out my cooler and I started yelling, ‘Lemonade, ice cold lemonade!’ And they all started coming over,” Mogan said.

Years later, the nonprofit is serving warm meals and distributing clothes and hygiene products with the help of about 15 volunteers.

“I love it. It’s as much for me as it is for them,” Mogan said. “I’m not going to lie. I get a lot out of it.”

And the need in Pinellas County is there. According to the 2025 Point in Time Count, which tracks the number of people experiencing homelessness, more than 1,800 people are houseless. That’s the lowest for the county since the count began, but Mogan thinks that total is miscalculated.

“Now I know for a fact we didn’t count all of them, because I know where some of them where that didn’t get counted. So I think you could almost double that number,” she said.

With three different outreach events every week, Mogan said they serve more than 200 people.

Janet Muharay was houseless for two years and is now giving back to the nonprofit that helped her. 

“A lot of them want that chance to take a shower, to get food, clothing. We need to have more places like this for that, because I was there, I know what it felt like,” Muhary said.

Mogan said she wants to see Hydrate the Homeless continue to grow and expand to every city in the county.

“It’s nice to be able to come together and just have time when we’re just people and people enjoying each other’s company,” Mogan said.

Hydrate the Homeless has three different outreach events every week.

They serve meals at The Refuge in Clearwater on Tuesdays and Fridays.

On Wednesdays, they make and deliver sandwiches for distribution at the Crossroads Church in Largo.