Miami

The Miami Division honors Constance Collins, founder of the Sundari Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the education, advancement, and social inclusion of poor, disadvantaged, and homeless women and children.

In 2004, Ms. Collins established the Lotus House, a temporary residential shelter that provides women and children with the tools necessary to improve their quality of life, achieve greater self-sufficiency, and transition to more stable housing. Through her network of contacts, Ms. Collins has leveraged additional resources to provide basic health screenings, immunizations, and HIV testing for Lotus House women and children, and has extended this support to other residents that live near the shelter. To date, the Lotus House has served more than 650 homeless women and infants and has provided basic vaccinations for many local residents.

The Sundari Foundation is working to provide additional space to expand the Lotus House’s efforts to house more women and children.