Deb moved into Protected Harbor in July of 2019. Before that she lived in a group home in Texas, so she had no prior connection or even awareness of our existence. Since arriving in her new home, she has adjusted well to her new lifestyle which provides greater independence plus innumerable chances for friendships, activities, and socialization.

Deb’s daily schedule begins with a large cup of coffee and some quiet time, reading, and prayer. She loves animals, cats in particular, so much of her interest revolves around the care of domesticated animals and researching wildlife. In fact, she wishes she could volunteer at an animal shelter.

Protected Harbor has made Deb feel wanted and cared for. In her own words: Living here “gives me a sense of wellbeing, comfort and I feel safe. It is like God giving me a hug”. Those words can only come from a genuinely thankful heart.

Despite her disabilities, Deb has an interesting resume which includes having attended college for two years and studying French for four years. While at Protected Harbor she will be able to continue her academic pursuits using many of the opportunities offered at the house. Other major goals in her life are learning more about Jesus and how to live a healthy life.

Board member Alyssa Hayes joined Protected Harbor eight years ago. Among the many gifts and services she has contributed to our mission, her skills in speech pathology have greatly enhanced the communication needs and struggles of various residents. Recently, she has conducted weekly training sessions with two of our men, and has often said that working with them brings her nothing but joy and fulfillment.

When Alyssa was growing up, a friend’s sister suffered from Cerebral Palsy. Alyssa witnessed her family take care of all her needs well into adulthood. They used pictures to help her communicate which made such a deep impression on Alyssa that it became the impetus and inspiration for becoming a Speech Pathologist.  Her childhood experience created a true passion for the communication needs of people with special needs and their overall independence. Alyssa believes strongly in building independence and believing that if they can, they will.

Alyssa is proud to have spent the last 28 years as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Her career spans various professional positions in acute care, rehab, private therapy, and public education. Currently employed by Collier County Public Schools, Alyssa works with students PreK-5th grade. This population has varying degrees of cognitive, physical and language skills such as Autism, Developmental Delays, Epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, hearing impairments, Angelman’s Syndrome, and DiGeorge Syndrome. She is trained to use pictures, communication devices, and sign language to facilitate communication. She is a part of a team to address essential skills such as feeding and swallowing. In addition, Alyssa also serves students with speech delays or disorders affecting the correct pronunciation of speech sounds, while others need help understanding the meaning and use of language to succeed academically. She is trained in Orton Gillingham and enjoys working with students with Dyslexia.

Alyssa is a single mother of three boys: twins aged twenty-two as well as a seventeen-year-old. She has lovingly nurtured and watched her boys develop into well-adjusted young men. She is very grateful and credits a deep faith in God for this accomplishment. In addition to her service to others, Alyssa enjoys cooking for her boys and indulging her passion for gardening.

In her own words, Alyssa has expressed what it has meant to work with Protected Harbor: “PH residents have blessed me over the years with countless smiles, prayers, laughs, and stories. They all show such perseverance and grit overcoming their weaknesses and shining in their strengths. They bring such joy to my life. My prayer is that PH will continue to grow and serve many others in the future”.

She clings to the promise of Romans 8:28 that God works for our good. He works for “the good of those who love Him”. If you love God, you can trust that He is working for your good….He loves you and when we love people, we seek their welfare.

Romans 8:28 “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Cleo thinks of herself as our “party girl”. Behind her smile is a woman always ready to try something new and who can find fun in the most mundane aspects of daily life. Cleo’s parents, George and Athena Pappas played a central role in creating the idea for and the actual building of Protected Harbor’s first group home where Cleo has been living. She proudly thinks of it as the home her daddy built for her.

Cleo is a big fan of old movies and fantasizes about being part of the drama and romance portrayed in old Hollywood classics. It is no surprise  that she loves dressing up as if going out for a night on the town, wearing a pair of earrings from her extensive collection. The highlight of any holiday is anticipating a trip back home, allowing her the opportunity to take her parents out to dinner.

Cleo also loves to read, learn and interact with others. During the week she attends training classes that help her with stress management techniques. She also participates in do-it-yourself experiments and projects, learning money and math skills, and reading books.

Dinner time each night is her opportunity to engage the other residents in conversation and rehash the day’s events while joking and chatting about the activities planned for the next day. She is certainly in her element enjoying good food, good friends, and good conversation!

One of the Bible verses Cleo keeps on her bulletin board reads: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly” (I Peter 4:8).  In every way she can, Cleo seeks to live this verse out daily. She is passionate, sensitive, friendly, welcoming, and contagiously happy with the good life God has given her.

We are pleased to welcome our new college intern, Hannah Roberson. Her assistance with marketing and administrative supports will be of great value as Protected Harbor begins serving more of God’s special people.  Hannah immensely enjoys the time she’s been able to interact with our residents.

Having interns working alongside us is an opportunity and a blessing that goes both ways. Hannah is one such young lady who at 21 years of age is busy working towards her bachelor’s degree in marketing. She will be graduating in December.

Her plans after graduation include being a social media manager for various organizations and businesses to help them grow using social media marketing techniques. However, at the end of the day, she is leaving her future plans in God’s hands and will follow His lead.

Hannah has expressed great satisfaction with the opportunity to intern at Protected Harbor as she gains real-life experience working with a growing organization like ours. She is learning new things and gaining experience not only in the social media aspect of things but also how to navigate the world of a nonprofit.

She expressed her feelings in her own words as follows: “It has been very fulfilling serving and interacting with the residents. I look forward to continue working with Protected Harbor in the future even after my internship is over. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to work with such an amazing organization”.

And we at Protected Harbor are thankful for her involvement and for sharing her talent as she works alongside us in this Christ-centered mission.

When Joy C. was invited to attend a Protected Harbor board meeting almost a decade ago, she immediately thought of her daughter Kristin. Unlike her sister Dana, Kristin grew up needing special attention and care her entire life because of her developmental and intellectual challenges. They have a close and loving family, but Joy was thinking ahead to a time when she would no longer be able to care for her daughter.

She was prescient in her thoughts, because in 2012 she went to be with her Creator leaving Dana as the primary care taker for her sister. Joy had prayed for peace of mind that her special needs daughter would be able to live out her life in a loving and caring environment with friends to share her life with. Protected Harbor is just the perfect setting for her. Kristen in fact will be our newest resident and will be welcomed as “family” by the others with whom she will be sharing a home. It comforts her sister Dana that her forty-six year old sister will be living in the very place their mom prayed about and desired for Kristin.

For Kristin the love of family is paramount and this new extended family will be a wonderful addition.  She will remind her fellow residents about her birthday 4-6 months in advance to make sure it won’t be forgotten! May 8^th therefore will be a date that she looks forward to in order to celebrate it just like she did most recently by having a luau themed cook out with her friends. Despite the luau however, her favorite food is actually Italian. Maybe a pineapple pizza was part of the menu!

She loves music and dancing, especially to the hip hop style of Kirk Franklin and other Christian artists. Her very favorite vacation spot is the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando which she visited often with her family. You could spot her there dressed in her favorite color: hot pink. Kristen will be joyously welcomed as a new family member at Protected Harbor, the place her mother Joy envisioned for her. She will begin this new chapter in her life guided by her favorite Bible verse found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

We are pleased to welcome Kerry Kubacki as the newest member of Protected Harbor’s “Friends of the Board”. These special friends enhance our mission with their generous support, dedication and commitment. Kerry’s first introduction to Protected Harbor came from our board president, Jeff Buchholz, a fellow tablemate at First Baptist Naples’ Band of Brothers weekly Bible study sessions.

Initially he did not seem too interested in involving himself with another mission since he already was actively involved in several activities at First Baptist, one of which was the church’s food drive. He also volunteered at Hope for Haiti which was a satisfying way to serve God and Haitians in need.  A  turning point in his life came with a diagnosis of Covid-19. Kerry found himself in intensive care for twenty-one days where he came close to death. His faith and favorite Bible verse helped pull him through the trial: “Do not be afraid, I am always with you” Isaiah 43:5 Once recovered, after much prayer and intercession from family and friends, he came to the realization that God wasn’t finished with him yet; he had more to do before being called home.

God tugged at his heartstrings by reminding him of what he had heard about Protected Harbor. While hospitalized, Bible verses that emphasized God’s love for His special creations kept recurring and bringing his thoughts back to Protected Harbor and its special residents. He always had a love for children, but this was different: God’s special children are not categorized by age, but by His infinite love for them as a Heavenly Father.

Once he returned home from the hospital and began regaining his strength, Kerry was able to attend a board meeting and decided to join as a Friend of the Board. He felt deep in his heart that this is where God wanted him at this moment in his life. Kerry comes to us with a background which is as eclectic as he is: he began his work life at age twenty by driving a semi-truck for a large trucking company. He did that for fifteen years.

In 1987 he moved to Florida, where he reinvented himself becoming a real estate broker.  He worked for C & W Development for twenty years as their in-house broker as well as managing their model centers. He now works part time as a closing agent for Quicken Loans, specializing in mortgages. His thirty-five year marriage to the love of his life Tish, has produced two wonderful sons, Kory, twenty-nine and Kyle, twenty-seven. Tish teaches at Gulf Coast High School in Collier County. She and Kerry enjoy occasional escapes from the Florida heat by going to Colorado or North Carolina where the mountainous terrain is a nice departure from the flat Florida landscape. As a knowledgeable, hardworking, hands-on person, Kerry is definitely a blessing to our residents and the group of men and women who make the board of Protected Harbor so unique and special.