Covenant House Florida

Shelter and crisis care:covenant House Florida, Inc. Provided shelter and crisis care to a total of 865 unduplicated youth who received 32,500 days of crisis care (food, shelter, clothing, case management, health services, parenting education, independent living skills instruction, individual/family counseling, job readiness training, education, etc. ).

Young families program (formerly mother/child program)the young families program provides emergency services, short and long-term housing, food, and medical and mental health care to pregnant and parenting youth and their children. The program also offers young families access to free child care services, parenting support, and a full range of educational, vocational, and job placement services. A total of 109 moms & babies were helped in fy2022.

Rights of passage:the rights of passage program provides transitional and rapid rehousing in scattered site apartments for up to 24 months to youths, including individual counseling and help with completing education and finding/maintaining jobs and housing. A total of 37 youths received transitional housing in fy2022.

Health and well being (formerly medical):homelessness impacts young people's physical and mental well-being in many ways, and because youth are still developing cognitively, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, those impacts can have deep effects. Trauma-informed health and well-being services range from medical care at on-site health centers, religious and spiritual services, and physical fitness. In these activities, young people heal from the harm done to them while living unhoused and take control of their lives, build on their strengths, and nourish their self-confidence.

Outreach:trained outreach counselors travel by foot and van to areas where street kids congregate offering: an introduction to Covenant House Florida through informal dialogue that affirms each youth, non-perishable food, clean clothing, hygiene supplies, first aid, and counseling about issues that affect the youth's current situation, referrals to safe shelter, medical care, or other services. If requested by the youth, the team will provide transportation to the crisis shelter.

Drop-in services (formerly community service center)drop-in services are another form of outreach at Covenant House. Youth in this program are not receiving residential services, but are provided access to nutritious meals, hot showers, hygiene products, laundry services, and new clothing and shoes. They can request and receive medical and mental health services, case management services, transitional and permanent housing assistance, and they may take part in the education and employment program.

Public education:this program informs and educates the public on how to identify potential "runaway and "throwaway" adolescents; public and private resources are available to help such adolescents before they leave home and public support services are also available to these families to improve their home environment.