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The ATHENA Program is the newest clinical endeavor of Tampa Crossroads, Inc. This 16 bed transitional housing program, located in Ybor City, now provides safe housing and treatment services specifically for female veterans who are homeless as a result of substance abuse and mental illness, PTSD, sexual abuse and trauma, physical disability, domestic violence, or due to a lack of transferable employment skills after discharge from the armed forces. The ATHENA Program is the only transitional housing program within the State of Florida specifically designed to address the unique needs of homeless female veterans. Our 30 years of treatment experience working with homeless females with histories such as these has found that temporary housing within mixed gender emergency shelters or transitional housing programs is not optimal and has often resulted in further abuse, trauma, and worsening of their substance abuse and mental illness.
The ATHENA participants are provided safe housing for up to 24 months within the fully renovated and newly furnished ATHENA facility. During this time, these female veterans will participate in individual and group counseling weekly and learn the life skills they will need to support permanent, independent living and leave the life of homelessness behind them forever. Additional groups offered at the ATHENA Program include marriage and family counseling, relationship groups, meditation groups, exercise activities, nutrition classes, parenting classes, budgeting classes, cooking classes, and appreciation of the arts classes.
Drawing from our experience working with female clients in our other residential treatment and transitional housing programs, we feel one of the most important change agents in helping clients such as these homeless veterans regain their self-esteem, self-confidence, and sense of control in their lives, is the ability to support themselves through gainful employment or through furthering their education. For this reason, we strongly encourage and prepare all of our ATHENA clients to enter the job market, either gainfully or as a volunteer if a disability exists. Likewise, clients who engage in educational or vocational training goals immediately realize a sense of accomplishment, increase their skill levels, and acquire higher paying jobs.
