Haven House Services

Path to Success for Youth

By Katrina McDowell on Oct 6, 2023 in Giving

Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees.

In 2022, Yardi offices supported more than 350 nonprofits worldwide. For the remainder of the year, we will bring you the stories of those organizations and insight into how they aid their communities.

Today, we introduce Haven House Services (HHS), founded in 1973 in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the youth community finds help. Haven House programs help more than 1400 youth aged six-24 years overcome challenges and find a path to success.

“Our mission is to help youth be safe, supported and successful. We are the designated agency in our community to coordinate intake and care for youth under age 24 experiencing homelessness,” said Kelly Bloom, volunteer and marketing coordinator for HHS.

Haven House Services currently has ten programs to support youth in the community:

A Haven for Safety:

• Wrenn House – the only homeless shelter for youth ages 10-17 in the Triangle.
• Street Outreach – provides essential need items and outreach services for youth ages 16-24 experiencing homelessness.
• Transition in Place – helps homeless youth ages 18-23 move into transitional housing and build independent living skills.

A Haven for Support:

• Juvenile Diversion Team – works to prevent court involvement for problematic youth.
• Juvenile Assessment Team- provides clinical assessments and referrals to services for court-involved youth.
• Multi-Systemic Therapy – mental health program that supports the family unit to help youth at high risk for out-of-home placement.
• Outpatient Therapy – provides quality support ranging from clinical assessments, individual and family therapy sessions, guidance to recovery, education and other mental health resources for youth ages 7-24.

A Haven for Growth:

• Second Round – helps youth achieve emotional and physical wellness through boxing, exercise and skill building.
• Restitution and Community Service – provides youth with a supervised community service house and the opportunity to earn restitution to benefit victims.
• Community Alternatives Program – offers intensive case management, monitoring and support for court-involved youth.

Since the pandemic, Haven House has continued to see an increase in youth struggling with mental health across all programs. Unfortunately, there is a lack of providers available to provide services. HHS plans to launch an outpatient mental health therapy program. Once fully implemented, HHS expects an additional 200-250 youth individuals annually.

“We want our youth to be able to quickly access mental health support for issues jeopardizing their personal, familial, academic and overall success,” said Bloom.

Funding from Yardi provides at least 100 hours of therapy, counseling or crisis support to youth experiencing homelessness or problems at home, school or in the community.

“We are so grateful for the generous support we received from Yardi. It came at a vital time as more youth than ever in our community are struggling with mental health issues, and we are investing significant resources in building and expanding our clinical programs and services to address the need,” said Michelle Zechmann, CEO of Haven House Services. “Thank you to everyone at Yardi for being champions for youth in our community.”

Luke’s Journey

Luke was having a tough time when his parents decided to get a divorce. Not only did it affect his relationship with his mother, but it also changed his family dynamic. At 16, he began running away and skipping school. Luke was then introduced to the Haven House Juvenile Diversion Team. When he first entered the program, he was withdrawn and apprehensive about opening. After a few meetings with his case manager, he realized he had a caring adult in his corner whom he could trust to help him set goals for the future.

Luke is now focused on keeping good grades and attending all his classes. He has also decided to participate in extracurricular activities and enjoys playing on the baseball team. While Luke still has some tough days, his case manager says that his outlook has changed dramatically, his positivity is infectious, and he is moving in an exciting direction.

Volunteer Opportunities

Haven House always looks for organizations or individuals to host donation drives for its Essentials Pantry and special events throughout the year. They also have several holiday programs, including an Adopt a Wishlist program. Additionally, they host volunteer groups yearly to clean and do gardening at the youth shelter and Second Round gym at the main office. If Yardi employees seek a leadership opportunity, HHS would love to discuss it in more detail. Please get in touch with Kelly Bloom at [email protected] for more information.

“Haven House is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, and we are so excited to have Yardi join us as a new supporter in this milestone year. We hope Yardi employees or groups will contact us to learn more and get involved,” Bloom shared.

Find future non-profit profiles at https://www.yardi.com/blog/category/giving.