Haven Project Inc.

The Haven Project’s mission is to equip and empower homeless and unaccompanied young adults north of Boston, between the ages of 17-24, with the skills and support they need to be safe and self-sufficient. Our overall goal is to be flexible and responsive to the homeless young adults we meet in our target communities. There are many opportunities for these young people in our community, but if we do not reach them through effective outreach and collaboration, they are at very high risk for incarceration, pregnancy, human trafficking, suicide, and drug addiction.

We implement our mission through six critical focus areas and in each of these areas, we have developed short and long-term programming to best serve this population. Our services currently include providing these youth with basic needs, such as daily hot meals and clothing, education advancement, employment opportunities, safe and stable housing, health services, and a sense of community. Key programs include our social enterprise and job-training program, our transitional apartments and host home program, and our on-site educational support.

Our location is very accessible in downtown Lynn, adjacent to a major transportation station for buses and the commuter rail. This gives us the ability to serve not only the young adults in Lynn, but also those in the surrounding areas. Aside from our onsite services, we are also granted permission to regularly visit the local public schools, providing presentations and a familiar presence to bridge the gap between the guidance office and our drop-in center.

Our Lynn Drop-in Center is open Monday-Friday 4-7PM, and is the central hub for all of our support services, while our new Salem site at Lifebridge North Shore, is open weekly.

Our comprehensive intervention is only accomplished through supportive case management.

Our intervention:
(1) Provides caring adult support and mentoring to youth in assessing their strengths, talents, barriers and support needs
(2) Formulates individualized plans based on that assessment and facilitate their engagement in appropriate activities
(3) Connects them to the education, training and community support(s) they will need to become successful,
(4) Ensures that they don’t fall between the cracks of multiple systems and/or programs, and
(5) Accounts for the steps taken to attain basic needs, education credentials and employment success.

Our Executive Director oversees all operations, the Program Director oversees all client-related programs, the Social Enterprise Manager oversees all café staff and operations, Case Managers and Job-Coaches offer clients individualized support, and we have fundraising and social media support. We also utilize at least 60 volunteers annually who do everything from providing legal counsel, to life skills presentations, to providing meals and basic needs. We are supported by a volunteer Board of Directors. Our Board President and our Executive Director meet weekly to collaborate on growth plans, assess financial viability, and ensure the organization is serving the population as intended. Our staff, board, and volunteers reflect our targeted constituents in the area of diverse race and ethnicities and age.

The Haven Project continues to grow in the number of clients assisted and programs are expanding to meet the growing and complex needs of the homeless young adult population.

Key achievements include:
1) Obtained 501c3 status, developed program protocols and monitoring systems, developed an outreach strategy, and hired and trained staff on case management systems.
2) Developed key community relationships with shelter providers, high schools and colleges, volunteers, employers, and housing agencies.
3) Opened Thousand Hills Café in January 2016, a social enterprise that provides job training and career development opportunities for our clients.
4) Opened our in-house, online education lab to offer individual tutoring on ESL, Hi-set (GED) and Apex (online high school courses).
5) Developed a successful job-training program, Catalyst. This program currently offers on-site employment opportunities to 15 clients at Thousand Hills Café, and offers weekly classes related to job skills and provides individual resume development and career planning for 100% of Drop-in Center participants.
6) Developed a product line carrying the name of our job-training program, Catalyst, which offers low barrier employment and training opportunities for homeless unaccompanied young adults that have struggles that prevent them from working. This successful addition to our program has employed an additional 40 clients this year.
7) Opened our first transitional apartment that can house 5 female clients ages 18-24 to provide rapid, safe, and affordable housing while occupants work to save money, continue their education, and secure viable long-term housing.
8) Expanded our host home program.
9) Awarded Lynn Chamber of Commerce’s Non-Profit of the Year in 2018.
10) Piloted a new drop-in center at the Salem New Liberty Innovation School for the 2018-2019 year, which provided the opportunity to connect with community partners, build alliances, and gain name recognition in Salem.
11) Through the pilot program, we were able to build credibility and partner with Lifebridge North Shore, where we opened our second drop-in center in August. Our goal with this new drop-in center is to bridge the gap in services and direct the students we encounter in Salem to our Lynn drop-in center where they will be able to connect and plug-in to the full extent of our services.
12) Customized and implemented a client database program called Apricot, which has improved our efficiency, helped us with program evaluation, and streamlined our client interactions.
13) Our social enterprise café and location of our job-training program, Thousand Hills Café., won the coveted Best of North Shore (BONS) for Best Coffee Shop for the third year in a row!