New Center Provides Services, Support for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

Homeless-service providers, community leaders, philanthropists, and young advocates who have experienced homelessness themselves gathered on October 18 for a ribbon-cutting and dedication at the new Harvest House Youth Center, a drop-in center exclusively for 16- to 24-year-olds who are homeless or at-risk.

The new center, which is located on Mango Avenue in north Sarasota and is the first of its kind in Sarasota County, will provide a front door to services and safe socializing for an often overlooked group of homeless individuals in our community. It is one piece of a larger plan to provide a countywide support system for unaccompanied homeless youth, who are at risk of becoming the next generation of chronically homeless adults in our community without the right help to meet their unique needs.

Go here to view photos from the ribbon-cutting >>

Operated by the nonprofit Harvest House as one of its many Youth Services, the drop-in center provides homeless teens and young adults with a place to take showers, do laundry, safely store belongings, escape bad weather, charge electronics, and more. It will be staffed by case managers who can help them set and track goals for housing, education, employment, and health. “The ultimate goal is for the youth to live out their dreams,” said Erin Minor, executive director of Harvest House.

A hidden group of homeless

More than 400 youth between 16 and 24 are homeless and on their own in Sarasota County, according to homeless-service providers. They live in a variety of unsafe, temporary situations, such as cars, parks, shelters, motels, or the homes of other people. They may enter homelessness with little work experience or life skills, and many leave their education early as a result of their situation. Unaccompanied youth often have experienced trauma and are subject to high levels of criminal victimization.

For over a year, a work group of service providers and funders convened by Gulf Coast Community Foundation has been developing and executing a strategic plan to systemically serve the unique needs of unaccompanied youth in Sarasota County. The new Youth Center is one of two planned by the group, with a second center targeted for the southern part of the county. Other projects launched through the collaborative initiative are a Youth Action Board of previously homeless young people who advocate for better services for others going through what they have experienced, and housing subsidies provided through Gulf Coast and the Sarasota Housing Authority to help youth secure stable housing while they finish their education.

Work group participants include Gulf Coast, Harvest House, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, Florida Department of Health in Sarasota, Sarasota County Health and Human Services, Sarasota County Child Welfare, More Too Life, Sarasota Family YMCA, The Salvation Army – Sarasota, and Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. A generous group of Gulf Coast donors has provided critical funding to help turn the group's strategies into real solutions. "The system we are building would not be possible without the commitment of our donors," said Mark S. Pritchett, President | CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

A front door to services

The trim, blue-and-white Youth Center is a repurposed cottage that includes a spacious screened front porch, large interior gathering areas with youth-friendly seating, a kitchen, a bathroom, and offices for case management and counseling. The interior design and decoration was completed with input from Youth Action Board members, who wanted to ensure the center would welcome and serve the needs of their peers.

“When we started the Youth Action Board, we didn’t know what it would really mean,” said Darryl Williams, president of the Youth Action Board, in remarks at the event. “But we all agreed that we should have services for unaccompanied homeless youth, and we knew that would change the dynamic of what help really was.”

The Youth Action Board is actively reaching out to others and has openings for young people who have experienced homelessness and would like to participate. “Our entire Board would like to continue to be a voice for unaccompanied youth,” said Williams.

“This is an important part of an overall strategy to help the homeless in our community,” noted Gulf Coast's Pritchett, who also spoke at the event. The same day as the Youth Center ribbon-cutting, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office formally introduced its Homeless Outreach Team, which includes a deputy and case managers who work to connect chronically homeless adults in unincorporated Sarasota County to social services instead of jail.