WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Hundreds of people experiencing homelessness now have a place to relax and recharge near downtown West Palm Beach.
The Lord's Place officially opened its newest facility Thursday morning after five years of working on the project. It's a new 25,000-square-foot center located along Australian Avenue, which opened in June.
Members of The Lord's Place board, local officials and clients gathered at the new facility, at 2808 N Australian Avenue, to celebrate.
The organization said they’re breaking the cycle of homelessness in Palm Beach County, and this new building is a gift to and from the community.
WPTV spoke to the organization's CEO, Diana Stanley, about the impact they’ve made since opening their doors to this new building over the summer.
"We just see so much gratitude from our clients that walk in saying finally they have a place to sit and rest and start conversations about the barriers of homelessness and define their purpose," Stanley said. "I describe this as a purposeful building. We all know, in life, if you don't have a purpose, then there's no feeling of wanting to move forward. That's what our job here at The Lord's Place is."
During her statements at the celebration, she explained they received approval to build the facility in 2018, but the pandemic, a breast cancer diagnosis and other obstacles hindered the project.
She thanked many people for their support and said it wouldn't have been possible to celebrate this new building without them.
