Crestview Realtor Leads Community Effort to Transform LSF Hope House
Crestview, FL – Heather Vaughn, a local Realtor with Property Group 850, has mobilized contractors, business owners and residents across the Florida Panhandle to complete extensive upgrades to Hope House, a temporary shelter for youth in need operated by Lutheran Services Florida (LSF).
Vaughn has worked in real estate since 2014 and joined Property Group 850 in 2023. Before that, she spent nine years as a kindergarten teacher in Okaloosa County, giving her an extra reason to feel compassion for struggling children and families. Though her career path shifted, that compassion never went away.
Her connection to LSF Hope House began when a coworker saw a social media post from shelter staff about the need for a washer and dryer. That need was quickly met. Following that first good deed, Vaughn and her colleagues volunteered for a workday at the home, where she saw firsthand how much more could be done.
LSF Hope House provides live-in shelter to youth in crisis ages 10-17. While in-shelter, residents receive counseling, case management and family support with the goal of reunification. LSF has an approximately 98% success rate of youth returning home to their families to rebuild their lives, following their stay at LSF’s shelters spanning the state of Florida. The program reflects LSF’s broader mission to bring healing, hope and help to children and families in need by offering a hand up.
“It’s very important to me to give back and support the programs in our community,” Vaughn said. “If we don’t support them, they won’t exist anymore. It’s important to pour back into the community that continues to pour into me.”
Through a leadership development program with the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, Vaughn selected Hope House as her group’s service project. With a network of business leaders and tradespeople throughout the Panhandle, the group set out to tackle critical repairs and improvements.
The most significant project was a new roof. Timberman Roofing volunteered labor and coordinated donations for materials, completing a project valued at approximately $25,000.
When the effort came up about $5,000 short, an unexpected donation covered the remaining balance.
In addition to the roof, volunteers primed and painted bedrooms, replaced blinds and curtains, upgraded bedding with extra sets for every bed and refreshed bathrooms with new shower curtains and rugs. A gaming area was added for youth, and an Amazon wish list generated an outpouring of support that included laptops, outdoor games and other essentials.
Although the formal leadership project has concluded, Vaughn and her colleagues continue to respond when new needs arise. She has also begun inviting school counselors and community leaders to tour the home to better understand the services available to youth in crisis.
Vaughn said the experience has reinforced her belief that people want to help when they understand the need. “People want to see that their money and their time are building up the community,” she said. “Even just connecting more people to Hope House makes a difference.”
About LSF
LSF is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to helping the most vulnerable Floridians. We do this by reducing the suicide and drug addiction rate, giving families in crisis the support they need to persevere, and making sure those in poverty get the education they need to close the achievement gap. We have three lines of service, Head Start, Family Focus and Health Systems. For more information about LSF and its programs, please visit www.lsfnet.org or contact LSF Director of Communications, Savannah Hill, at savannah.hill@lsfnet.org
