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22 x April 15 — May 5, 2021 x www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com<br />
Ameena Malik admits she’s “a little bit of<br />
an overachiever,” but the Bay Hill resident and<br />
20-year-old University of Florida junior is more<br />
than a little motivated. The daughter of physician<br />
parents, Ameena is a licensed Realtor, pre-med<br />
major and the CEO/founder of her own nonprofit<br />
agency, Malik Supportive Housing Services.<br />
Founded July 2020, Malik Supportive<br />
Housing Services was born from Ameena feeling<br />
“profoundly affected” by the COVID-19<br />
pandemic. Heartbroken and overwhelmed, she<br />
wanted to do something to help and soon realized<br />
she could put her acquired skills to work<br />
with her most valuable resource, the real estate<br />
license she obtained in 2019.<br />
Her housing organization — maliksupport<br />
iveservices.com — works by scouring parks<br />
and shelters for homeless clients with the help<br />
of Ameena’s brother. The clients are found acceptable<br />
housing free of charge, and once off<br />
the street, the new residents are provided financial<br />
literacy information and other services to<br />
help them get back on their feet. To date, Malik<br />
Supportive Housing Services has assisted a dozen<br />
clients in just seven short months.<br />
The funding for this monumental endeavor<br />
comes from investors, Realtors and solicitation<br />
mailings. Ameena recently learned grant-proposal<br />
writing and submitted 10 grant applications<br />
SOUTHWEST<br />
Selfless Service to Others<br />
Bay Hill Resident Makes a Difference<br />
Ameena<br />
Malik of<br />
Bay Hill,<br />
a pre-med<br />
student at the<br />
University<br />
of Florida,<br />
supports<br />
people in<br />
need of<br />
housing.<br />
to corporations, the state of Florida, and private<br />
foundations whose missions include a focus on<br />
eliminating homelessness. She also consults with<br />
Habitat for Humanity and is looking for other<br />
collaborative partners.<br />
Working from her college apartment,<br />
Ameena enlists the help of friends and family<br />
SPOTLIGHT<br />
by Leona Braun<br />
members — including her three siblings Ali,<br />
Aleena and Aliya — to achieve her goals.<br />
“My mom calls us her A-Team,” Ameena said.<br />
The organization also employs a paid fulltime<br />
program director with a background in social<br />
service, referred to Ameena by her mentor<br />
and part-time secretary. In all, her team consists<br />
of five dedicated individuals and many family<br />
volunteers.<br />
“Without them, there would be no program,”<br />
Ameena said.<br />
A graduate of Orlando Science Schools’<br />
gifted program, Ameena hopes to attend medical<br />
school at either the University of Central<br />
Florida or University of South Florida.<br />
“It’s important that my family be nearby,”<br />
she said. “My ultimate goal is to return to my<br />
Orlando community to be an effective contributor<br />
and the best version of myself.”<br />
Growing up in an extended family of many<br />
physicians, Ameena spent her high school years<br />
volunteering in hospitals and health clinics, even<br />
serving as a physician’s personal assistant. Her<br />
mother, Nasreen Razack-Malik, M.D., refers<br />
to Ameena as “an experienced humanitarian<br />
and extraordinarily committed to academics<br />
and community service.”<br />
Ameena is passionate about medicine and<br />
medical research. Someday, she hopes to find<br />
the right balance of healing patients while<br />
delving into the mysteries of medicine.<br />
“Patient interaction will always be an important<br />
part of my medical career,” she said.<br />
Ameena hopes to bring heightened awareness<br />
to her cause of getting people in need off<br />
the streets and into homes. She intends to oversee<br />
and expand the housing services program<br />
well beyond medical school and plans to offer<br />
accredited internships to work in the program as<br />
well as specific life skills training for the clients.<br />
She hopes her peers will learn from her<br />
example.<br />
“If you have a good idea, research it,”<br />
Ameena said. “Do something. It will be very<br />
rewarding.”<br />
If you know someone who could be helped<br />
by Malik Supportive Housing Services or if<br />
you would like to volunteer, email them at<br />
mshservices2020@gmail.com, call 407-993-<br />
2115 or visit maliksupportiveservices.com. ª<br />
Now Open<br />
12500 Overstreet Rd.<br />
Windermere, FL 34786<br />
Oversteet Rd. is 1/4 mile south of the intersection<br />
of Chase Rd. and Hwy 535 in Windermere.<br />
Open 7 days a week<br />
from 9-5<br />
beckblueberries11@gmail.com<br />
WE NOW HAVE 2 LARGE<br />
HAND WASHING STATIONS.<br />
EQUIPMENT IS SANITIZED BETWEEN USES.<br />
PLENTY OF ROOM<br />
FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING.
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