SANCTUARY OF HOPE

The primary goal of SOH and all of our programs is to equip our young people with the resiliency to succeed in life.

Program Objective: (1) Ensure that TAY have access to safe and secure housing: (2) Obtain the independent living skills to adequately prepare them for self-sufficiency: (3) Help them identify permanent housing destinations: (4) Promote financial stability through education and employment, asset building, and counseling

We help TAY build protective factors, such as, self-esteem, problem-solving and coping skills, academic development, and community engagement that will equip youth and young adults to respond to life circumstances. TAY are able to receive life coaching and mentoring in the areas of financial literacy, communication, nutrition and health, education, and independent living. We also use strategies that include evidence-based motivational interviewing for engagement that is youth-centered and goal-oriented as well as peer mentoring with former homeless and foster/probation youth; character and leadership development through community service and service learning activities, such as digital literacy training, civic engagement and organizing education, and field trips; health education in the form of workshops and lecture series, pamphlets, and social media communication; and job therapy and readiness through partner organizations. If a young person encounters a period of housing instability, our housing resources help them get back on their feet and normalcy.

With over 60 years of combined experience in working with the homeless and youth, our staff and Board provide the necessary skills to address the issues our youth face. Our seven member board, in addition to being a resource, helps establish policy and direction for the organization's growth and sustainability.

Remarkably, 84% of our board members work or live in within our catchment area. They are reflective and representative of the population we serve.

Over three years, we have demonstrated our success by having 89% of our youth reporting housing stability and higher education attainment through regular check-ins with us for academic advocacy and general support.

SOH has had many accomplishment. For the first time ever, we hosted a Jazz and Conversations on Youth Well-Being event that was featured in the LA Standard Newspaper. And, we completed our first ever 10-60 challenge, a partnership with Holman United Methodist Church to house 10 homeless youth in 60 days. Last month, SOH enlisted free training and technical assistance from Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARs) to revamp our programs to be responsive due to boys and young men of color dropping out of school for finance and high stress level reasons. SOH underwent mini-focus groups and surveys with program youth as well as exclusively boys and young men serving organization to prioritize the top five actions: (1) Establish co-mentoring program to tap into existing programs to meet social emotional needs with whom boys and young men can identify: (2) Provide more workshops and retreats to strengthen boys and young men minds to deal with environmental stress factors (violence, gangs, poverty, racism, etc.) and broaden their horizons including virtual workshops: (3) Travel or study abroad for broaden cultural exposure: (4) Connect boys and young men to meaningful employment pathways coupled with other financial supports to reduce stress.

For this new fiscal year, we are securing 17 beds of Bridge Housing for homeless Transition Age Youth who are going to school and working while they await permanent housing placement into our Rapid Rehousing program. It will be the first Bridge Housing of its kind in South Los Angeles and in the County. And, we are launching I Engage, an advocacy and awareness program to address inequity in safety net systems and encourage participatory democracy among young adults and I Parent, a program designed to support our young parenting families to equip them with resiliency to rise out of poverty. New funding by Kaiser Permanente South Bay will help us provide better support services for our youth and young families residing in the South Bay.