Megan Howell, 36

Megan Howell was a decade into her career as a server and manager at Patrick’s 1481 in downtown Sarasota in 2019 when her life, and purpose, took a big shift.

A friendship with a mentally ill homeless man outside the restaurant grew into a cause to help him, and then soon help others living on the streets. That grew into a self-funded business for a brief time, and now that organization, Second Heart Homes, is a nonprofit with $3.1 million in total assets and $1.89 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, according to public tax filings. The mission of Second Heart Homes, according to its website, is “to provide housing and critical support services to homeless adults with mental illnesses in Sarasota and Manatee counties.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Second Heart has been busy since Howell dropped the LLC and obtained a 501(c) (3) license in 2019. The organization has since assisted 68 men and women in getting off the streets through 12 homes it has purchased.

The organization, Howell adds, is different from many other social services nonprofits in that it has a high-touch, tailored service model, and it notably doesn’t take government funding or sign mortgages. Second Heart has raised about $7 million from private donors over the past six years, Howell says, and received other funding and support from a variety of foundations.

In addition to housing, Second Heart, says Howell, works with people who make a commitment to address their mental health, remain sober and achieve personal goals toward self-sufficiency. Howell is motivated, she says, to see Second Heart’s residents “learn to trust others and be part of a community.” 

Howell says her mentor, Second Heart board member and past chair David Welle, has been an integral part of her success. He has helped her develop processes and systems, and has pushed her to take calculated risks and chances.

That goes as far back as even starting Second Homes, when Howell says she was unsure how to sustain her passion. Howell took that risk, which included foregoing a salary her first two years at Second Homes. “I was terrified I was going to become homeless,” Howell quips. 

But she preserved and has also grown as a leader with Welle, who co-founded a management consulting firm and was a partner at accounting giant Coopers and Lybrand, guiding her. Howell says she’s currently working on her workaholic tendencies, and learning to delegate more effectively. “He’s helping me become the best version of myself,” Howell says.