Helping homeless in SW Miami-Dade, Mau's Foundation in danger of losing own shelter
CUTLER BAY - A non-profit that helps some of Miami-Dade County's most vulnerable is on the verge of losing its own shelter.
Mau's Foundation is a 501 (c)3 that provides food, clothes, supplies and support for anyone who has needs. The organization rents a warehouse in Cutler Bay for $1,358 a month.
However, the landlord sold the property and told tenants to vacate by the end of January, Mau's Foundation founder Jacqueline Toledo Moreno said.
"I feel a little devastated," she said. "People rely on us and now I feel like all (the people), they're abandoned because a lot of them have told me this. (They're) like oh my God. What are we going to do now?
It worries both clients and volunteers.
"At stake is single moms who need the free milk and diapers (the foundation offers)," Madonna Smith, a volunteer said.
The pressure squeezing the foundation also threatens its mission, which is inspired by Moreno's and her children's greatest loss.
"One of my major passions was to leave something for them to always remember their dad and not forget their memory and what he was all about," Moreno said.
Mauricio Savedra was her seven-foot-tall rock. He was an electrician and club bouncer known to protect anyone who seemed vulnerable or in need, Moreno said.
Five years ago, gunfire outside the family's window hit Mau, as friends called him, in the head. It left the father paralyzed and dependent on his wife until the day Mau died.
Moreno started the foundation in her late husband's honor.
"I have a lot of social workers that have told me I am the only non-profit within a good 15- to 20-mile radius that does all that I do," she said.
Her organization collects new items, food, diapers, clothes, shoes and more. In their warehouse, they host giveaways and farmer's markets with produce donated by Trader Joe's.
"This became a home for me," Madonna Smith, a volunteer who distributes food to people in Homestead.
Smith now brings friends to volunteer too.
"We're like my daughter's pregnant," Diana Mulle, another volunteer, said of her first visit. "We need help and (the foundation was) like here (take) diapers, wipes. You need clothing? You need strollers and we're like okay. We're good with diapers."
Mulle became a volunteer because of the impact she sees on clients who come from as far away as Broward County and Key Largo. Among them, volunteers see recent migrants who show up with nothing and leave with tears of joy.
"I have so many families that are homeless that I take care of now and now I feel like we are homeless ourselves," Moreno said. "We're becoming homeless."
Moreno has searched for new warehouse space but can only find rentals that command almost double what the foundation currently pays, she said. It cannot afford to operate at that cost or without storage.
"I don't want to stop what I'm doing," Moreno said. "We have created such a wonderful community that's filled with support."
While they wait for donors or a new landlord willing to help, volunteers sound determined to do whatever possible to save the resource. Until then, they're trying hard to empty the warehouse, scale down and prepare for whatever comes next.
Mau's Foundation is hosting its next big mass giveaway and farmer's market Sunday from 2 pm-5 pm, 18569 SW 104th Avenue in Cutler Bay.