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The Children’s Village will offer therapeutic services, educational support, diverse programming, and a creative environment for the children and youth of Overtown, including those sheltered at Lotus House, equipping them to succeed in school and life,” says Constance Collins, Executive Director of Lotus House. Our mission at Lotus House is to improve the lives of women, youth and children experiencing homelessness by providing sanctuary, support, education, tools and resources that empower them to improve the quality of their lives on every level, achieve greater self sufficiency, and build safe, secure lives. If their dreams come true, we enrich our community with the fruit of their potential realized.
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In some cases, such as those suffering from cancer or other severe medical conditions requiring prolonged treatment, medical issues are the principal reason for homelessness. In addition to offering basic health and mental health care, evidence-based and trauma-informed counseling,and education, our programming embraces alternative therapies and pathways to healing, health and wellbeing. Imagine you are 17 or 18 years old and alone, homeless, desperate to finish high school, with no family support and nowhere to turn. Nearly all of the unaccompanied, homeless youth at Lotus House have survived severe trauma in their short lives, including abuse, neglect and untimely loss of parents and caretakers, among others. And yet, with the holistic support system of Lotus House and education as their lifelines, they are still full of youthful hopes and dreams of a better future, college, the service or employment and a career.
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Lotus House is truly setting the standard on a national level for best practices and innovation. In comprehensive, multi-faceted programming and support services, together, we help women, youth and children emerge from the shadows, give voice to their dreams, and build the foundation for safer, healthier, brighter futures. Development of The Children’s Village represents a natural next phase for Lotus House, filling critical gaps and expanding essential therapeutic and educational supports for both the children and youth they shelter and those who live nearby. Currently, children aged newborn to three access the United Way Center for Early Education and Childcare housed within the shelter.
Lotus Village: A Hope for Homeless Children and Women in Miami
The bond created between mother and child during play, is one that allows for healing and strengthened relationships. Our programming rooms were created with mom and child in mind, offering them spaces and activities that will help them heal, grown and learn together. Since opening its doors with 34 shelter beds in 2006, Lotus House has grown to serve more than 10,000 women, children, and youth.
Since opening in Overtown 10 years ago, Lotus House has welcomed thousands of women and children, including 128 newborns. Still, more than 2,000 homeless women and children are turned away annually due to lack of space. The construction of Lotus Village kicked off Sept. 16 with a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site in Overtown. Once completed, the location will increase its total capacity from 250 to 490 homeless women, youth and children. Lotus House — one of the largest homeless shelters for women in the country located in Overtown, Miami — enlisted the help of several FIU psychologists to take part in a community-based research collaboration. The goal was to better understand how Lotus House alumni, who successfully transitioned from the shelter to stable housing, perceive and describe the shelter culture.
Sheltering 1,550+ women, youth and children annually, Lotus House is the largest shelter for women and children in the country. We provide shelter, resources, and multi-faceted, comprehensive supportive services to help our guests successfully exit the shelter system and lead lives of greater opportunity. The Children’s Village will come to life directly across the street from Lotus Village, the organization’s state of the art shelter which opened its doors in 2017.
Drake Donated $50000 to a Women and Children's Shelter - Architectural Digest
Drake Donated $50000 to a Women and Children's Shelter.
Posted: Thu, 08 Feb 2018 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Creation of The Children’s Village will be made possible by the support of Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc, a non-profit foundation that supports Lotus House and its initiatives. Research revealed that Lotus House has a strong “culture of care” — where the women are treated with dignity and respect, as individuals and not numbers. From focus groups with Lotus House alumni, different themes tied to shelter culture emerged and became the central elements that define and describe what a culture of care looks like in action. Therapy and supportive services can play a critical role in helping in our guests heal and regain a sense of stability and hope for the future. The start of construction marks the launch of Lotus Endowment Fund’s campaign to raise $25 million for the shelter’s long-term sustainability. Bank of America, a long-time supporter of Lotus House, announced a $250,000 pledge for operational and programmatic support at the new shelter.
In 2018, the organization debuted the state-of-the-art Lotus Village, which has set national standards for shelter design, operation, and programming. Today, more than 80 percent of the shelter’s guests successfully exit the shelter system following their time at Lotus Village, far exceeding the national average of between 60 and 65 percent. Undeterred by the pandemic, Lotus House served a record-breaking number of people last year, sheltering 1,526 women, youth, and children through December of 2021. Lotus Village has invested heavily in operational protocols aimed at ensuring the health and well-being of shelter guests – from deep cleaning protocols to investments in UV light technology that eliminates airborne bacteria. The shelter also introduced programs and therapies to assist children and adults in adapting to the realities of the pandemic. Shelter guests have had access to weekly COVID-19 testing and vaccine administration onsite.
The Children’s Village will continue that educational continuum and provide enriched supports through the pre-school years and beyond, including high school. Educational workshops and a host of enrichment activities, including art, creative writing, yoga, dance, and crafts, offer alternative paths to healing, self exploration, growth and creative expression. Pre-natal care, birthing and parenting classes, and infant medical care and screening are also arranged for pregnant women and infants, along with needed maternity and infant supplies and day care assistance. With a multi-faceted and coordinated approach, Lotus House seeks to provide the full continuum of resources, tools and education needed to empower these special women to build a safe, secure and better way of life for themselves and their children. “By co-locating with other non-profits within The Children’s Village, we are establishing a new model for unprecedented collaboration, community engagement, cooperation, and holistic support for children and families.
Financing for the project was arranged by The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, US Bancorp Community Development Corporation, Florida Community Loan Fund, and Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. Construction is expected to last between 15 and 18 months with an aim to open in time for the school year in the fall of 2024. Other items should be taken to our donation center located at Lotus House Thrift Chic Boutique. Sign up to stay up to date with the latest in Miami residential and commercial real estate news and content.
Not only is the experience of homelessness by women gender specific, so too are many of the reasons they experience homelessness. The overwhelming majority of the women we serve at Lotus House are victims of physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, trafficking, violent crime or other severe traumas. Women fleeing domestic violence and other forms of abuse are forced to give up homes, jobs, support systems and more to escape, too often only to find themselves at equal or greater risk of danger in homeless shelters and on the street. Lotus House provides free transitional housing and wrap around support services with access to a wide range of resources to approximately 520 women, youth and children daily. With a holistic, gender specific and innovative format, Lotus House seeks to empower women to improve the quality of their lives on every level, achieve greater self sufficiency and transition to permanent homes off the streets.
Crystal Resper was seven months pregnant when she arrived at the Lotus House women’s shelter in Overtown. Engaging in artistic expression can serve as a powerful tool for guests who have experienced trauma, providing a therapeutic outlet for self-expression, emotional processing, and healing. Around 99 percent of the women at Lotus House have histories of domestic and intimate partner violence, are victims of other gender-based violence or have other significant trauma. That’s why the research team took a trauma-informed approach when hosting the focus groups with Lotus House alumni.
Rather than designing programs on a ‘one size fits all basis’ with research based on studies of the male homeless population, a more gender specific focus is now being recognized as appropriate to address the special needs of women. Lotus House staff and board members are all dedicated to giving the fragile families we shelter the time and tools needed to heal, improve the quality of their lives and help them achieve greater self sufficiency. Access to employment and education services can help break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, providing opportunities for greater economic stability and improved quality of life. Programs, like ours, that adopt a non-institutional approach to homeless services have been found to be the most successful in reaching, engaging and changing the lives of homeless women. They focus on the importance of a warm, casual, non-institutional environment to engage the homeless into services. Transitional housing program for single homeless women, pregnant women, or homeless women with child/children under one year old.
On behalf of the homeless women and infants we shelter, thank you for your compassion and commitment to the Lotus House. A community pavilion will host book readings, films, performances, dance workshops and inspirational speakers. Today, we house over 500 women and children on a daily basis and over 1000 annually, giving these fragile families the time and tools needed to heal, improving the quality of their lives on every level, helping them achieving greater self sufficiency, and assisting them transition to their new homes. During the event, Gisele Bündchen, a passionate philanthropist and dedicated advocate for women and children in need, announced $1 million in support for a new playground for the preschool at the Children’s Village, along with educational programming to take place within the facility upon opening.
More than 300 members of the community attended, including City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book and Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Russell Benford. Several Lotus House alumni who have transitioned to homes outside the shelter system welcomed attendees, including many children who were newborns at Lotus House. GracesList.org is an emergency services directory offering a list of local homeless shelters, churches, food banks and other emergency services. Many of the women had spent time in other shelters where they didn’t feel safe and no one knew their name. With the new building, the administrators hope to increase the number of residents to 350 and provide more services for others who do not live in the shelter.
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