Florida
Hope Florida helping thousands, first lady Casey DeSantis says
The governor’s office estimates Florida could eventually save nearly a billion dollars through help provided by the Hope Florida program.
Hope Florida has been around for three years after it was spearheaded by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, who wanted to improve connections between people and aid outside of government.
She was helping bag groceries Thursday to highlight how the program works.
“I always say you can have the best resources, you can have the best programs, but if you don’t know that they’re there, what good are they?” DeSantis told us during a one-on-one interview.
The first lady officially launched Hope Florida in 2021 after it ran as a pilot program in a few key spots around the state. It was conceived as a better way to connect those in need with the private sector, nonprofits, and especially faith groups.
Hope Florida acts as a conduit to ensure aid in an area gets to where it’s needed most. Organizers say it eases the burden on Florida’s welfare programs.
“It’s helping people find a better place in life,” DeSantis said. “Helping them live up to their God-given potential, helping them on a pathway to economic self-sufficiency.”
Since starting in 2020 as a pilot, Hope Florida reports it’s helped more than 87,000 Floridians. Over 25,000 of them have cut down or eliminated their use of public aid for food or cash. In 10 years, the state said that’ll equal a Florida savings of nearly $795,000,000.
At Hope Florida’s core is its Hope Navigators like Kirsten Lovett.
“We are someone that actually gives people hope,” she said.
When requests come, Lovett acts sort of like a social worker who helps determine the needs of a person or family. She enters it all into a website, the CarePortal.
From there, charities and churches enrolled with Hope Florida are alerted. If they think they can help with food, furniture or whatever the need might be, they say so. Navigators like Lovett then coordinate.
“A lot of times families hear no — that denial kind of discourages them,” she said. “What we do is make those calls for them. When we call them back— all they hear is yes.”
It was City Church in Tallahassee on Thursday that said yes. And Pastor Dean Inserra said Hope Florida is helping his church say it a lot more.
“It’s real easy to know that there are needs in the big picture, generically,” Inserra said. “But it can be so big you feel like you can’t make a difference by taking the next step. CarePortal allows us to have a clear next step and say here are real people, with real problems, that are right next door.”
Right next door, or even down the road in Quincy, where one family we met with, got the care it needed. That, and a little more hope, thanks in part to Hope Florida.
“If you are looking for hope, Hope Florida is a place to start, and it’s 850-300-HOPE,” DeSantis said.
Scripps Only Content 2024
Florida
Florida couple in alleged embryo mix-up have identified biological parents of ‘non-caucasian’ baby
A Florida couple who claimed a fertility clinic error led the woman giving birth to a “non-Caucasian child” who was not related to them said they have identified their child’s biological parents, according to reports.
“The results of testing delivered to us today confirm that our baby’s genetic parents have been identified,” Tiffany Score and Steven Mills said in a statement obtained by People on Wednesday.
Score and Mills filed a lawsuit in January against Fertility Center of Orlando and its head reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Milton McNichol, alleging that another patient’s embryo was implanted in Score’s uterus in April 2025.
The mix-up led to the birth of their now 4-month-old daughter, Shea, who is not biologically related to them, the filing alleged.
“This ends one chapter in our heartbreaking journey, but it raises new issues that will have to be resolved,” the statement continued. “In addition, questions about the disposition of our own embryos are still unanswered and are even more unlikely to ever be answered.”
“Only one thing is as absolutely certain today as it was on the day our daughter was born —we will love and will be this child’s parents forever.”
The couple added that they will respect the privacy of Shea’s biological parents and will keep their identities “confidential.”
Score and Mills, who are both white, stored three viable embryos at the Longwood clinic in 2020 for in vitro fertilization, a process that creates embryos and stores them until pregnancy.
Five years later, after an embryo was implanted, the couple gave birth to a “beautiful, healthy female child” on Dec. 11, 2025, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 22 in Orange County Circuit Court and obtained by Law & Crime.
“Tragically, while both Jane Doe and John Doe are racially Caucasian, Baby Doe displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child,” the lawsuit said.
Further genetic testing confirmed that baby Shea had no biological relationship to either parent — raising questions about where their embryos had gone or whether another woman was impregnated with their biological child.
The new parents had an “intensely strong emotional bond” with their child during pregnancy and wished to keep the girl, but recognized she “should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her,” the lawsuit stated.
Scarola told People, following Wednesday’s development, that Shea’s biological parents have not made any requests to take her into custody.
“Remaining questions about the fate of Tiffany and Steven’s unaccounted for embryos…are still pending,” Scarola said.
“The current legal proceeding will remain open to address those matters,” the attorney added. “However, we expect that we will now also begin to focus on the need for our clients to be compensated for the expenses they have incurred and the severe emotional trauma that they endured and will continue to experience.”
The Fertility Clinic of Orlando announced earlier this month that it would close by May 20 — a decision leadership said was made after “thoughtful consideration.”
Neither Scarola nor the clinic immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.
Florida
Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida
-
Now Playing
Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida
04:45
-
UP NEXT
Northeast blasted with sudden snow and freezing temperatures
01:41
-
Millions Clean up Destructive Aftermath of Severe Midwest Storms
02:03
-
Tornado touches down in Minnesota while historic flooding threatens Wisconsin
02:09
-
Deadly weather slams Midwest
01:56
-
Early Spring Heat Wave Scorches Nearly Half of the United States
03:46
-
Dangerous tornadoes rip across Midwest
01:53
-
Massive tornadoes tear across Midwest
01:59
-
Dangerous weather continues to slam parts of the country
01:26
-
Dangerous storms rip across country’s center
01:30
-
Historic floods batter Hawaii
01:22
-
Hawaii Faces Worst Flooding in 20 Years; Thousands Evacuate
00:20
-
Major flood emergency prompts mass evacuations and rescues in Hawaii
01:51
-
Thousands ordered to evacuate as dam nears failure on Oahu
01:50
-
Potentially record-setting heat wave scorches western United States
01:46
-
Midwest slammed by record-shattering blizzard
02:19
-
Powerful storm system slams Midwest as East Coast braces for impact
02:36
-
Millions Face Extreme Weather With Possible Blizzards, Tornadoes
00:46
-
Violent March weather
01:40
-
Two killed in tornado outbreak
01:58
NBC News NOW
-
Now Playing
Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida
04:45
-
UP NEXT
Northeast blasted with sudden snow and freezing temperatures
01:41
-
Millions Clean up Destructive Aftermath of Severe Midwest Storms
02:03
-
Tornado touches down in Minnesota while historic flooding threatens Wisconsin
02:09
-
Deadly weather slams Midwest
01:56
-
Early Spring Heat Wave Scorches Nearly Half of the United States
03:46
Florida
Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university
Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.
“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.
Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.
In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.
“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.
-
Detroit, MI8 minutes agoThings to do in Metro Detroit, April 24 and beyond
-
San Francisco, CA20 minutes agoCA to open 3 new state parks and expand others, including in Bay Area: Here’s where
-
Dallas, TX26 minutes agoWild vs. Stars Game 3: Key takeaways as Dallas takes series lead on Wyatt Johnston’s 2OT winner
-
Miami, FL32 minutes agoMiami-Dade deputies detain elderly father who they say shot and killed his son after a domestic dispute
-
Boston, MA38 minutes agoBoston has one of the best public markets in the country, says USA TODAY
-
Denver, CO44 minutes agoRed flag fatigue? Colorado sees near-record number of critical fire days
-
Seattle, WA50 minutes agoFOLLOWUP: West Seattle pickleball players band together to save court access
-
San Diego, CA56 minutes agoPadres sign Giolito to 1-year deal with option for '27