FIRST LADY CASEY DESANTIS’S INITIATIVES

FIRST LADY CASEY DESANTIS’ INITIATIVES

Hope Florida

A Pathway to Prosperity: Uniting communities through ‘Hope Navigators’ to guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity, economic self-sufficiency, and hope.

Spearheaded by First Lady Casey DeSantis, Hope Florida utilizes ‘Hope Navigators’ to guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity by focusing on community collaboration between the private sector, faith-based community, non-profits, and government entities, to break down traditional community silos, in an effort to maximize resources and uncover opportunities.

Hope Navigators are essential in helping individuals identify their unique and immediate barriers to prosperity, develop long term-goals, map out a strategic plan, and work to ensure all sectors of the community have a ‘seat at the table’ and are part of the solution.

Hope Florida’s Care Portal technology connects the needs of struggling Florida families with faith and community partners. A Hope Navigator identifies a need, inputs it into the Care Portal, and a real-time message is sent to all participating organizations. 

Beneficiaries include, but are not limited to, struggling single parents, pregnant mothers battling addiction, children aging out of the foster care system, and foster and adoptive parents.

Resiliency Florida

The Resiliency Florida initiative rebrands and rethinks the way mental health is taught in schools by reframing it to “resilience” to empower students to persevere through life’s inevitable challenges.

Created new standards and curriculum that focus on problem solving skills, critical thinking, coping, perseverance, compassion, and grit
Partnered with professional athletes such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joey Logano, David Beckham, Lou Holtz, Bryant McFadden, and Charlie Ward, among others, to share their stories of perseverance, hard work, and grit
Incentivized volunteerism through curriculum and Hope Ambassador Clubs to provide students first-hand opportunities to serve their community and those in-need while gaining valuable context and perspective on life, away from electronic devices

Continue the Mission

The Continue the Mission initiative recruits former law enforcement officers, veterans, and military spouses to be child protective investigators, Department of Children and Families case managers, and mentors to children in need. This initiative provides flexible career opportunities for former law enforcement, veterans, and military spouses who still have a desire to serve their communities.

The Facts. Your Future.

The Facts. Your Future. campaign reinvents how substance abuse is taught in schools from “Just say no to drugs” to “Just say no to drugs, and here’s why.” 

Improves youth understanding of the life-altering effects of modern-day drug use and equips students with the knowledge to make educated and smart decisions about their health and future
$5 million dollar marketing campaign dedicated to substance abuse advertisements, curriculum, and social media content
In-person school assemblies led by First Lady Casey DeSantis that provide students with context and perspective on drug abuse
Assemblies include testimonials from recovered addicts, parents who lost their child to drugs, peers battling addiction, law enforcement, and representatives from the medical community to show the dangerous effects drugs have on the body and mind

Florida Cancer Connect

In August 2022, First Lady Casey DeSantis launched Florida Cancer Connect. During her own battle with cancer, she realized the need for a centralized hub for patients and caretakers to access information on cancer care, detection, prevention, research, and treatment. The Florida Cancer Connect website, flcancerconnect.com, provides those battling cancer with tools and information, including national statistics, prevention materials, and event opportunities to bring greater awareness to cancer.

Florida Cancer Connect will help Floridians:

Understand cancer research and prevention programs
Locate a health care provider specializing in cancer care
Navigate the complexities of cancer related insurance coverage
Obtain caregiver resources
Hear from brave Floridians who have fought this disease

Hope for Healing

The Hope for Healing initiative was launched in May of 2019. It is a multi-agency effort and community collaboration to address mental health and substance abuse by creating a simplified process for Floridians, particularly children, veterans, and first responders, to locate resources and information.