HUDSON — Getting a good job can be a challenge, but for those facing barriers to employment like a disability, lack of experience or training, there is hope — Hope Services.
The nonprofit job training and placement agency trains and places hundreds of people a year, but for west Pasco residents, getting to the facility in Land O’ Lakes is the challenge.
That’s about to change. Hope Services is coming to the west side of the county thanks to the organization’s recent purchase a former bank building at Bayonet Point in Hudson. There’s a lot of remodeling and equipping to do, but the plan is to have it up and running by spring, said David Caldas, Hope executive director of operations. Caldas, along with fellow Hope staff members, toured the building, located behind the Wendy’s restaurant on the northwest corner of U.S. 19 and S.R. 52 in Hudson on Aug. 21. They used their imaginations to visualize the planned transformation.
The break room will become the culinary arts training kitchen, equipped to duplicate a commercial kitchen in every way. Another room will be the construction training classroom, and yet another will be a recreation of a hospital room where training for medical technician jobs will take place. There also will be a space set up for training students in the fields of hospitality and retail.
“It gives them the training they need to get started and in some cases like with the medical field, hospital will pay for college to continue their education once they are hired,” said Caldas.
He said the training center will aim to keep classes for each field small — perhaps 10 students. Hope has instructors on staff now but will be hiring more for the Bayonet Point center. For students, the cost will be “minimal,” and in some cases covered by grant money. “We try to make it as accessible as possible,” he said.
The Land O’ Lakes center serves people from Pasco, Hernando, Pinellas, Hillsborough and other counties in the region, and the need is great. The new center will be particularly convenient for those without personal transportation, as it is across the street from the county bus service’s Bayonet Point hub, which connects riders with stops north, south and east, including TheBus, Hernando County’s system, with routes 16, 19 and 21.
Hope was started in 2003 by Cindy Bray and her husband, whose daughter has a disability and struggled to find a job. Working with the agencies that assisted their daughter, and volunteering to help others facing employment hurdles, led the couple to start their own organization, which today has 22 employees and is growing. Caldas said the plan is to open a third center in about five years to meet the growing need.
Caldas said the organization started out serving only people with disabilities and others facing hard-to-overcome hurdles to employment, but today also serves those having difficulty getting a good job because of a lack of experience and skills, including young people out of high school who are not going on to college.
Hope isn’t just a training facility, said Caldas.
“We have people who help with job placement,” he said, adding that the organization networks with other help groups and businesses to find local jobs for Hope graduates.
Bray said Hope has been very effective at placing students in jobs. She said 423 graduates were placed in 2025. More than 460 have been placed this year.
The help Hope provides is rewarding, Bray said, adding that her daughter’s struggles and others facing life challenges continue to be “my inspiration.”
Caldas said there will be a “hot sledge” fundraising event sometime in September where supporters will wield sledgehammers on the walls marked for demolitions to get the remodeling project formally started. Those interested in supporting Hope can get more information at https://hopegetsjobs.org.