ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Senior Community Service Employment (SCSE) program sponsored by the AARP Foundation is at risk after a fire destroyed one of its hubs in St. Petersburg.

Since it opened nearly three years ago, the United Neighborhood Community Center has offered job training to help seniors earn an income while advancing their skills for a competitive workforce.

What You Need To Know

  • A Senior Community Service Employment (SCSE) program sponsored by the AARP Foundation is at risk after a fire destroyed one of its hubs in St. Petersburg

  • Since it opened nearly three years ago, the United Neighborhood Community Center has offered job training to help seniors earn an income while advancing their skills for a competitive workforce

  • Over 20,000 families in the area have benefited from the free food pantry, computer lab, Medicare, and transportation assistance

  • Participants who were in the middle of their job training program must now be placed with another host agency to continue receiving their stipend. Space is limited, therefore placement is not guaranteed

The fire damaged more than $20,000 worth of computers, supplies and equipment.

A minimum of 25 people would visit the resource center daily, but that is now on pause.

“It’s very sad when I first walk here and to see, you know, the loss, but it’s not the material things that burned my heart,” executive director Diems Duverlus said. “It’s just the people that rely on us day to day to serve them.”

Since coming to Saint Petersburg more than a decade ago, Duverlus has always wanted to make a difference, which is why he founded the community center.

Duverlus says that after his mother became ill, he especially wanted to help seniors.

“I always do things in my community as a young kid raised in Haiti,” he said. “We have a lot of seniors that have benefits, but they don’t have a navigator to help them.”

The center is an AARP Foundation partner and a host of their ‘Senior Community Service Employment Program’, where people aged 55 and up can enroll for six months of job training and receive a stipend for up to 22 hours per week. Duverlus says it prepares those looking to return to the workforce.

“We train them, help them build a resume, help them get familiar with the computer system and help them operate in their comfort zone,” Duverlus said.

Since opening, over 20,000 families in the area have benefited from the free food pantry, computer lab, Medicare, and transportation assistance.

“We know it’s a setback, but we will rebuild again,” he said.

He hopes the center will return and make an even greater impact.

“We need volunteers, we need ideas, and we definitely going to need a location to place the center,” he added.

Most importantly, he hopes to continue collaborating with the community. Participants who were in the middle of their job training program must now be placed with another host agency to continue receiving their stipend.

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