July is "Make a Difference In a Child's Life" Month
Release date: 7/1/2011
West Palm Beach, Fla.- July 1, 2011 - This month and throughout the year, Children's Home Society of Florida (CHS) encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making Palm Beach County a better and safer place for children, youth and families. By ensuring youth have supportive and caring people they can turn to, we can improve their quality of life. CHS offers the mentoring program Project 18, which provides one-on-one mentoring to foster care youth ages 11 to 17. Mentors offer support and guidance as youth transition from foster care to independent living when they turn 18. Project 18 Mentoring has a waiting list of 10 teens. To volunteer as a mentor, call 561-868-4366.
Research shows that youth with mentors are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. Young people perform better in all areas of their lives when they have a supportive relationship with a caring adult. For at-risk youth, volunteer mentors can be an especially positive influence that helps them make good decisions, believe in their own strengths and excel in school.
Communities across the country search for ways to keep youth safe, and many have established Safe Place as a community collaboration to make help readily available. Safe Place designates businesses, community buildings and mobile units as Safe Place sites that prominently display the Safe Place logo. Youth in crisis can walk in, and a trained representative will meet with them to determine what kind of help is needed. Safe Place connects children and their families with the supportive resources they need. In Palm Beach County, Safe Place is operated by CHS.
In Palm Beach County, all fire stations, hospitals, and some Domino's Pizza locations and Walgreens locations display the Safe Place sign, and employees are trained and prepared to assist youth needing help. Each year, CHS provides outreach education through Project Safe Place to more than 25,000 local children and adults.
This national initiative operates in 40 states that serve more than 1,528 communities across the country. Safe Place has helped more than 265,000 young people who have gone to a Safe Place and asked for help or contacted the youth-serving agency after learning about the program at school.
About Children's Home Society of Florida
Created in 1902, Children's Home Society of Florida is the oldest and largest statewide private not-for-profit provider of services to children and families in Florida. The South Coastal Division, established in 1964, serves thousands of children and families in Palm Beach County each year through a full spectrum of prevention and intervention programs that include foster care, adoption, child development, emergency shelters, residential group homes, independent and transitional living for teens, parent education, counseling, mentoring, treatment for developmentally disabled children, and more. CHS, which served more than 126,000 children and families throughout the state in 2009-2010, is headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., and offers services in more than 100 locations by more than 1,500 staff members dedicated to providing child-focused, family-centered care.