Children's Harbor, Inc.
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Voting is now closed for this competition.
Whitney turns 18 in 5 days. In foster care, this is the day that she "ages out" of the system.
Whitney: "Like, I'm kind of excited...but then kind of scared of going on my own...cause I'm kind of not going to have any help...so it's kind of scary, being a grownup..."
The day after her birthday, Whitney will have to pack up her bedroom and her 2 year old, son, and move out on her own.
Whitney: "I know it's only going to have a bed...for me"
EMPTY is not a home.
We don't do that to our own kids.
We can't change the system
But we can change the experience that one child is having IN the system
THAT is possible.
It doesn't have to be this way!
They don't have to feel this alone.
We want to help them create a HOME.
You can help us do that.
Your vote means:
Bath towels
Pots and pans
Bed sheets
a crib!
Curtains
A crock pot!
The stuff that homes are made up of
Vote today!
Vote tomorrow too!
Help your grandma vote!
Help us Light Tomorrow with Today.
Children's Harbor, Inc.
Established in 1996, Children's Harbor is a nationally accredited nonprofit agency with a mission to provide a safe harbor and support to at risk children, youth, and families - keeping brothers and sisters together, strengthening families, and guiding youth towards independence.
Our kids come to us broken. Broken bones...broken hearts...broken families. They have lost their light. On their own, children can not recover from the devastating impact of abuse and neglect. They need specialized support to heal. Children's Harbor is a therapeutic community that was built on the foundation of hope. A place where children can be safe while there families have the chance to heal. A place where we wrap the broken parts and do everything that we can to bring light back into the lives of children who have been affected by the trauma of child abuse.
Local businessman, Bill Mahoney, dreamt of building a place where siblings could grow up together; a place where children would feel safe and loved; and a place where children in foster care would know they matter. Bill shared his dream with other community-minded individuals and in 1996, Children's Harbor was established. Today, Children's Harbor impacts over 775 at-risk children and their families across our continuum of care:
*Our Residential program provides nurturing, family-style group homes for 24 siblings and 12 pregnant/parenting teens in the foster care system. These loving homes allow brothers and sisters and teen mothers and their babies to stay together during a turbulent time in their young lives.
* Children's Harbor also helps prevent child abuse through our Family Strengthening Program. Each year, over 450 children and their families, across Broward County, receive in-home counseling and guidance from our family support counselors.
*Our Independent Living programs provide guidance to over 200 teens who have aged out of the foster care system through our True North program. True North, a 5-year, $5 million federal grant, helps young adults, ages 17 to 23, who were involved in the foster care system, forge pathways to healthy relationships and economic stability.
*Our academic mentoring program, Grounded for Life, provides mentors to 40 teens, to improve academic success in foster children in high schools across Broward County.
*And finally, Brown's Harbor, a supportive housing program, provides housing and wrap-around support to former foster youth, ages 18-23. Browns Harbor is the result of an extraordinary collaboration between Children's Harbor, benefactors, Ashley and Ed Brown and their nonprofit organization, Selfless Love Foundation, ChildNet, and the City of Pembroke Pines.
