When Jonathan Ward first stepped into The Drop, he carried no belongings — only the weight of everything he’d been through.
“I lost my mother, father and sister all before becoming homeless,” he shared. “Coming to The Drop gives me not only the help that I need… but also a sense of community. I don't feel so alone.”
Just months earlier, this building in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood sat closed after federal funding cuts. Today, thanks to a deep network of community partners including BayCare, AdventHealth, local nonprofits and community churches, The Drop has reopened as a revitalized daytime resource center. The facility offers essential services like showers, laundry, mail and internet access, as well as onsite health resources to support daily needs and ongoing well-being.
For BayCare, supporting The Drop’s reopening reflects the not-for-profit health system’s mission to improve the health of all it serves — especially for individuals and families who face the greatest barriers to care.
That shared focus has shaped the partnership from the start.
“It’s a brand-new partnership,” said Katie Dunn, a BayCare community outreach coordinator. “BayCare is very happy to be working with The Drop as The Drop meets essential needs out in the community. It fits perfectly with BayCare because one of our key focus areas is access to health and social services.”
Focus areas are determined by a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment, conducted every three years, that identifies the most significant health needs across the county. A collaborative process is used to develop the assessments and implementation plans, integrating extensive data analysis, community member feedback and work with community organizations that share this commitment.
By bringing BayCare’s mobile community health team directly to The Drop, BayCare is helping remove one of the most common barriers to care — transportation — and offering services in a setting where guests already feel safe and welcomed.
BayCare’s Community Health team provides on-site health resources like preventative services, blood pressure checks, glucose screenings and body mass index (BMI) assessments, along with referrals and resource support when additional care is needed.
The approach reflects BayCare’s broader commitment to listening to communities and addressing what matters most to them.
The reopening of The Drop was made possible by WellBuilt Cities, a local nonprofit that grows and supports community impact initiatives, and more than a dozen partners who came together to refresh the space and restore services.
“This reopening shows what can happen when a community decides to step up and take care of its neighbors,” said Jon Dengler, CEO of WellBuilt Cities. “We’re here to say this isn’t going anywhere… not on our watch.”
Dengler describes The Drop as “a place where people can make themselves at home,” offering guests coffee, internet access, a small library, showers, laundry, mail services and a safe space to build the trusted relationships needed for long-term stability.
For him, the work is personal:
“I love my city… and we have a lot of neighbors that don't have access to these basic amenities. It was wildly important, almost like a calling, because we want to make Tampa the kind of city that we all want to live in.”
He credits the reopening to a shared commitment among community partners — each bringing different strengths to meet a wider range of needs.
“Health care partners can bring things that we can’t offer — like health screenings and clinical services,” Dengler said. “When those assets come together, it goes far beyond hygiene. It becomes community health, public health, wellness and thriving for all of our neighbors.”
For BayCare, that presence reflects its long-standing commitment to community-owned, compassionate care — showing up alongside trusted local partners and delivering services in ways that honor dignity, respect and trust.
For Ward and others who visit The Drop, the impact of the reopened center reaches far beyond services. He credits the facility and its staff with helping him secure employment— something he once doubted was possible.
“You’re welcomed with open arms… almost like you’re family,” Ward said. “The Drop has become a second family to me.
I would have never imagined meeting all the wonderful people here at The Drop and getting a job.”
Above all, The Drop is rooted in hospitality — for neighbors in need and for the broader community that helps sustain it.
“This is a place of hospitality,” Dengler said. “Our doors are open. If you have a need, want to volunteer, want to contribute to sustaining this operation — the doors are open to that too.”
BayCare’s continued involvement helps ensure that health care remains central to that hospitality — meeting people where they are, listening to community voices and strengthening access to care for our neighbors who need it most.
Learn more about BayCare’s community benefit programs and health equity work: Community Benefit and Community Health Needs
