Jacksonville, FL., December 8, 2020 – There is now another option for young adults in Northeast Florida in search of a place to live in the middle of a crisis. After three years of planning, the Youth Crisis Center is pleased to announce the opening of the House of Hope. The House of Hope will serve as an emergency shelter for young adults 18-24, including those who belong to the LGBTQIA+ community. The House of Hope is expected to provide short-term services for about 125 young adults a year for 30 days. This program was made possible due to the partnership with Changing Homelessness, JASMYN, and the amazing help of donors and volunteers at the Youth Crisis Center.
During their stay, staff will help residents with the following:
– Life skills training – Connection for stable and permanent housing
– Mental health counseling – Academic monitoring and support
– Access to medical care – Career development training
The House of Hope includes nine rooms hosting one bed each, a full kitchen, dining hall, private counseling room, life skills training space, sanctuary garden, and a communal gathering space. Each room of the House of Hope is furnished and decorated all thanks to the help of our wonderful donors.
“The House of Hope is needed in this community because statistically the national average of homelessness is 40% as it pertains to the LGBTQ community.”
Kim Sirdevan, the President and CEO of the Youth Crisis Center says rate of homelessness is much higher in Jacksonville. Sirdevan feels the House of Hope can serve as the safe space for the young adults to go to that will offer free services and housing, but an opportunity for them to further their skills for leading to self-sufficiency. The House of Hope is based on being gender neutral, emergency crisis care and with the specific services targeted at homeless young adults. That model is based on the programs YCC already offers on campus like the Residential Crisis Care Program which serves minors and the long-term housing program called Touchstone Village surviving 18-21 year olds. After examining what YCC already offers, it was determined what our community was lacking was the emergency shelter capacity serving the homeless young adults.
About Youth Crisis Center
Founded in 1974 as Florida’s first runaway program, the Youth Crisis Center’s emphasis on care is for those who have been exposed to traumatic situations such as divorce, homelessness, relocation, bullying, loss of life, and abuse. YCC provides a variety of services such as short-term residential crisis care, outpatient therapy, skills-based groups for children and their parents, and transitional living programming for young adults. For more information visit http://www.youthcrisiscenter.org/.
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