Shelter Youth Program

Each year, approximately 3–4 million children between the ages of 3–17 are at risk of exposure to domestic violence each year. Experiencing domestic violence as a child has a very unique set of challenges.

At Journey Center’s Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter a little over 50% of our Shelter guests are children. It is crucial to provide support, advocacy, and activities to children.

In Shelter, we have a Youth Program that provides therapeutic services to our shelter children. Our Youth Advocate staff provide services in Shelter specific to children who have experienced trauma; providing support to pregnant moms and children up to 17. Our Youth Advocates approach their work with vision and intention.

Youth Advocates provide daily groups and activities for children in our Shelter, providing an opportunity to feel safe while residing in Shelter and learning healthy skills to cope and process their experiences. Groups include a Journaling Group, Homework Club, Open Art Studio, Music Exploration, and Sensory Group. Additionally, Youth Advocates plan birthday parties for all children, and have a “Ticket Store” for youth, which is an opportunity for children to earn tickets and make a purchase at the “Ticket Store”.

Journey Center’s Youth Advocates in Shelter also plan events for special occasions. Some recent events include our Summer Beach Bash, Fall Fest, and Winter Wonderland. They work hard to plan and execute these events for the families in Shelter to build and develop safe, healthy relationships and provide a bit of fun while staying in our Shelter through this transition in their lives. Shelter Advocates also provide supplies for school at the start of the year and as needed.

Most importantly our Youth Advocates provides advocacy in all areas that a youth may need: school enrollment and school transportation, working to ensure that all proper safety protocols and laws regarding homeless children are being followed, as well as offering support and one-on-one advocacy when needed.

Our Youth Advocates at Shelter are doing amazing work and we are proud of the work that they do for children who have been impacted by domestic violence.
It is important that everyone, regardless of age, know that they deserve a safe, healthy relationship.