South St. Pete Community Members to Present their Original Research Findings to Local Nonprofits
Six South St. Pete residents went out into their neighborhoods as community researchers; on August 4th, they’ll present their findings to nonprofit leaders
(St. Petersburg, Fla.) – For the past seven months, the six members of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg’s Community Pulse Team have been out in South St. Pete, interviewing neighbors about their economic resources, barriers, and needs. On August 4th at 6 PM, they’ll present their findings to a group of local nonprofit organizations.
The project is part of a push by the Foundation to center resident voice in the efforts to improve health outcomes and opportunity in South St. Petersburg.
“Because of the Community Pulse Team, I had an incentive to go out and actually meet my neighbors. I got to know their names, hear their stories of resilience and reflections on the challenges we face every day in our neighborhood,” CPT member Brian Peret said. “Every single person I’ve met has an idea of help for them… Each and every person I met wants to be healthy and is willing to reach outside to find that help.”
The Foundation’s Community Pulse Team (CPT), which is made up of residents from within the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area, formed in 2024. CPT members spent their first six months on the team taking part in in-depth monthly community research training sessions led by Foundation Research, Evaluation & Learning team members Dr. Susie Paterson and Dr. Stephanie Rosado.
Once their initial training was complete, CPT members devised research questions, refined their methods and approach, and headed out into the community to interview residents and gather data in two key focus areas. They tackled mental health and wellness research first in 2025, then moved onto economic equity and justice in 2026, regrouping with Foundation staff and each other every month to review findings, ask questions, and assess progress.
CPT members presented their mental health and wellness findings to local nonprofits in January of 2026. Now, in August, they’ll share the findings of their community research on economic equity and justice.
“The data gets richer, not messier, when you prioritize trust over consistency. Sometimes we spend so much time and energy trying to standardize an instrument or protocol and not enough time interrogating who is capable of truly hearing the answers,” said Senior Research, Evaluation & Learning Associate Dr. Stephanie Rosado. “The whole premise of community-based participatory research is to involve residents in all aspects of the research, from ideation to analysis and dissemination. And that’s what the CPT is all about.”
CPT members conducted 45 resident interviews for their mental health and wellness research, and another 37 interviews for economic equity and justice, asking residents about their resources, barriers, and ideas for improvements. Now, they’re ready to offer local organizations a richer picture of people’s economic stability and health in South St. Pete.
The hope is that by sharing resident-identified needs, priorities, and ideas with local nonprofit partners working on issues of economic equity and justice, CPT members can help groups better target their efforts.
“Our shared progress only succeeds when built with those of us who live in communities of color, never just for us,” said CPT member Sharion Thurman-Reeves. “By centering our voices in these communities, we honor our ancestral strength and replace historical mistrust with genuine partnership. We claim our agency, thus ensuring that every effort is not only just culturally relevant but is also deeply rooted in our sacred lived experiences, self-determination, and in the God-given authority of the people who live it.”
DETAILS:
Date: August 4th, 2026
Time: 6 PM presentation
Location: Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, 2333 34th St. S, St. Petersburg, 33711
Community Pulse Team Members:
About the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is a private foundation formed in 2013 following the sale of the nonprofit Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. As the steward of an endowment to support health equity in Pinellas County, the Foundation leads, funds, advocates, and partners to create a community in which all people can lead healthy lives. The Foundation advances racially equitable health outcomes by improving the systems and conditions that shape them. It opened its Center for Health Equity in 2019. To learn more, visit https://healthystpete.foundation/
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