MANATEE — An average of five 18-year-olds call the Family Resources Inc. runaway shelter SafePlace2B every month, according to executive director Anne Melton.
They may be former foster children or runaways or victims of abuse.
They seek a warm place to sleep or help making ends meet as they move — or are forced — into adulthood without the means to live on their own.
Unfortunately for the callers, the end of childhood means the end of services Melton’s group can provide. And sending young adults to the Salvation Army is not ideal, either, because of safety concerns, she said.
“Finding a place for those kids is a real challenge,” Melton said. “We’re saying they’re adults at 18, but they’re really not.”
That’s why Family Resources and two other Manatee social service agencies are looking forward to the start of a new federally funded program that will target homeless people and runaways ages 25 and younger.
Family Resources, Manatee Children’s Services and the Community Coalition on Homelessness will receive $300,000 over a three-year period to run what they are calling a street-level outreach program.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds the program. Pinellas County has offered a similar program for about 10 years, Melton said.
The grant will provide for one full-time and one part-time outreach worker, who will be based in the Bill Galvano One Stop Center on 17th Avenue West.
The program will offer young people everything from immediate aid like food and blankets to referrals to agencies that can provide education, training, medical assistance or housing opportunities.
“The primary focus is to do street-level intervention. But the ultimate goal is to integrate that young person back into housing,” said Gigi Kelly, the chief operating officer at Manatee Children’s Services.
According to figures from the School Board of Manatee County’s Project Heart, there were 1,926 homeless school-aged children during the 2008-09 school year. Law enforcement agencies logged 1,500 runaway reports.
Children in foster care face daunting challenges when they “age out” of their foster families at 18. They must support themselves immediately, even though they still may be in high school. About 100 foster children turn 18 each year in Manatee County, Kelly said.
If the new adults are lucky enough to get a job, the struggling local economy may eliminate it.
“Typically what most young people have is the option to return to their family,” Kelly said. “But for young people who age out of foster care, that is the catalyst that puts them out on the streets.”
Family conflicts also send young people onto the streets, whether from parental abuse or apathy, Kelly said.
Adell Erozer, the executive director of the homeless coalition, has seen an influx of young families visiting the One Stop Center to seek homelessness assistance.
“That’s one of the most susceptible populations, young women with children,” Erozer said. “A lot of times, these people need more than just housing. They need education, training.”
Angela Walsh has been hired as the full-time outreach worker and will start her new job Nov. 30. She has 15 years of experience working in local social services, including two-year stints at the children’s services’ From the Heart program and the Manasota Homeless Project. Family Resources plans to hire for the 20-hour-per-week part-time position soon, Melton said.
Walsh said she will seek out young people who need the program’s services, working with hospitals, law enforcement and mental health officials. She plans trips to downtown events, malls, grocery stores and day-labor operations.
“We definitely want to go where they are,” Walsh said. “We want to get out and find them. Young people may not be as educated about the services as people who have been on the streets for a while.”
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