HomeAway.org
On Thursday May 7th the good folks at Home Away from Homelessness will observe their 15th year of rescuing children from the abject deprivation they face when their parents are no longer able to provide them with a home to live in.
There are about 5,000 homeless children in San Francisco today, and the average age is 9 years old. The problem is worsening as there is a 50% increase in homeless families from a year ago and 62% of those on the waiting list are new to the system. Most of theses children would pass as regular school kids, unidentifiable in a physically discernable way except for the fact that they have no steady home, so according to Jeanie Kortum, Founder and Executive Director of Home Away from Homelessness they tend to miss a lot of school, repeat grades, achieve less and suffer from anxiety and depression. Kortum describes the notion of “home” as the “philosophical and spiritual center, and we all know what that’s like to have that and these kids don’t, so [with Home Away] that’s what we’ve given them.”
In 1994 Kortum set about fixing that. Her mission was and is to provide every child who needs it, with the chance to experience a safe and supportive space that respects and fosters his or her strengths, creativity and abilities. Home Away intends to help build each child’s confidence by providing education, social and recreational opportunities to children who may otherwise miss out on these fundamental needs.
In partnership with Home Away, the National Park Service, provides the nonprofit with use of 4 facilities, 2 in Fort Cronkite in the Marin Headlands and 2 in upper Fort Mason in San Francisco. This arrangement has become a model for other national parks in the US. Home Away from Homelessness has 5 programs in total; The School house, which offers middle school students tutoring, homework assistance, educational testing and chef’s prepare nutritious meals for the kids to eat “family style”, the Beach House provides the crucial developmental component of “play” and discovering nature at retreats where they walk in the hills, watch the sunset or splash in the waves of the Marin Headlands. The Mentor Program matches homeless and formerly homeless middle schoolers with caring adults as a steady source of support. The Youth Leader Program aims to “break the cycle of poverty” by offering workshops and support groups to build skills and confidence in order to succeed in high school. The Education Advocacy Program is designed to interweave all resources by forging relationships between the parent, community and school district to better serve children without stable housing.
The Gala Fundraiser to support Home Away from Homelessness is scheduled for 6PM May 7th, 2009 at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco and will feature, silent and live auctions, dinner and music and a fashion show put on by the children. Attend or Donate at www.homeaway.org.
