YNot Youth Ministries: A Positive Haven for Gulfport Youth

Nick Harper's YNot Youth Ministries, a Christian non-profit organization, brings young adults together to better serve themselves and their community in the name of their faith.

Ynot Youth Ministries probably isn’t the church your elders remember. There are no pews, no grandiose choir, and certainly no one donned in suits or dresses. A non-profit organization focused on oftentimes troubled youth, Ynot brings young adults anywhere from 14- to 30-years old together to worship, support one another, and help the less fortunate in the community in the name of the Christian faith. Outside of the church, they’ve gone to places like Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg to feed the homeless as well as helped the elderly with house painting and renovations. Earlier this year 12 of their members went to Haiti to help with earthquake relief efforts. Every Thursday night, the younger portion of the group, a collection of …

• Photos (4)

Editor's Notes

Editor's Notes: Cold Shelter in Gulfport

This week I had the pleasure of meeting some very inspirational people in Gulfport, and I'm happy to say I've learned a lot about the community in a small amount of time ... I'm referring to the story "Homeless Guests Grateful for Gulfport Cold Shelter".

On Monday Dec. 27th I stopped by the Trinity Church of the Nazarene to visit with the cold shelter's coordinator Judy Ryan. She said the shelter was open Sunday night and seven homeless people stayed there. She then invited me to come back later in the evening to see how they run the shelter and visit with people who take refuge from the cold. I said I would think about it and let her know. I drove home to have dinner with my husband, and we talked about the possibility of staying at the shelter overnight or just going for a few hours. I settled on going back for a couple hours during dinner. I had no expectations and no idea if anyone would even talk to me. At 6pm that night I parked out front, walked past the small white board sign …

• Photos (5)

Giving Back in Gulfport

Giving Back in Gulfport: Judy Ryan

Judy Ryan is our Volunteer of the Week. Ryan has been volunteering for 19 years and is the coordinator of Gulfport's only cold shelter.

Name: Judy Ryan D.O.B.: 12/06/1948 Hometown:  "I was born in Illinois and raised in Michigan. I moved to the St. Petersburg Area in 1974, and now I live in Gulfport." Title: Coordinator of Trinity Church of the Nazarene and Cold Shelter How long have you been volunteering? 19 Years What encouraged/inspired you to start volunteering? "It's the need, the need was there. It starts out with being a part of the church." What do you like about volunteering? "Partly because I know it's a help to the community, it's rewarding to see someone in need that you can help in some way." How often do you volunteer? "I would say I (put in) 20 to 30 hours at least. I volunteer for the Pregnancy Center and the cold shelter." What keeps you interested in …

• Photos (1)

Homeless Guests Grateful for Gulfport Cold Shelter

A handful of guests spent Monday night at Gulfport's only cold shelter. Hear how the shelter is providing them comfort during the cold nights.

Record breaking lows in Southwest Florida no doubt caused many to turn up the heat and bundle up last night. That included thousands of homeless men and women who took refuge at area cold shelters. "I cried and I prayed all morning. All I have is God. I'm where I'm supposed to be," said 47-year-old Kenny Baker. Baker is one of eight homeless men who slept at Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Gulfport last night, the only cold shelter in South Pinellas County. On Sunday night Baker wrapped himself up inside a sleeping bag and slept next to a condemned house in Gulfport. "A Christian lady, one of my neighbors, she told me about this place," Baker said. And Baker told his friend 43-year-old Matthew Sara. Sara has been homeless for about three…

• Photos (7)

Teens Help Homeless On Christmas

Local teens hand out hotdogs and coffee to homeless men and women on Christmas.

ST. PETERSBURG - While many families spent the holiday weekend together, cooking, watching football, and playing with new gifts, one group of teens handed out hotdogs and coffee to those who slept outside in the cold. On Christmas night volunteers and 15 teen members of the YNot Youth Ministries in Gulfport bundled up and met at Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg. Their mission: to help feed the homeless. Director of YNot Youth Ministries Nick Harper says the tradition is seven years strong. Every Christmas a handful of teens from Harper's ministry band together to help the homeless. This year, they started at Williams Park around 6 o'clock Saturday night, but because it became cold and windy, they moved to the parking lot of City …

• Photos (1)

Volunteers Prepare Gulfport’s Shelter for Another Round of Cold Temperatures

The shelter could open Christmas night, if temperatures drop.

Volunteers with Trinity Church of the Nazarene are preparing food, gathering supplies and getting sleeping mats ready for a cold front.  If the temperatures dip around 40 or below, Gulfport's only cold shelter could open its doors at 6pm Christmas night. Coordinator Judy Ryan is keeping a close eye on local forecasts. She's aware of the projected lows and is helping organize the shelter in case they open Saturday night. "(People can come) if they're homeless, semi-homeless or if you don't have heat. Some people just don't have heat in their homes," Ryan said. Ryan says the building was designated a cold shelter December 1st and has already opened up five nights this season. "We open at 6pm. We make dinner at 7pm, and the doors are locked …

• Photos (6)