Dawning Family Services, formerly Alpha House of Tampa, has been serving the homeless since 1981. Until recently, we offered shelter and support services to only pregnant women and women alone with small children — the “maternity home” model. In 2018, our Board of Directors approved a new mission to reflect the agency’s desire to address the growing need we are witnessing to serve families beyond our historic core population. In addition, Dawning Family Services is significantly stepping up efforts to serve the critical need that exists in our community to provide housing stability for all disenfranchised families. This involves increasing the number of our emergency shelter units, expanding the population we serve to include a broader range of family types, and launching a new prevention program to provide basic needs and essential supports. Our newly expanded services will include both residential (emergency shelter) and non-residential (drop-in) services. Today BAO provides free services to over 800 HIV positive individuals and touches thousands of lives through community events, HIV testing, and prevention outreach. The mission of BAO is to enhance the quality of life for people living with HIV / AIDS, at-risk, affected individuals, and the LGBTQ community through outreach, age-appropriate prevention education, and supportive services.