
In our Youth Program, unaccompanied and parenting youth and their children find sanctuary, support, education, tools and resources to blossom into who they are meant to be.

Gender-specific, trauma-informed, resource enriched solutions for young people who lack basic supports such as stable, safe shelter and food, and the care of a parent or guardian are essential. The national Framework to End Youth Homelessness[1] calls for a two-prong approach to effectively serve homeless youth, namely settings which emphasize 1) trauma informed care in which youth can heal, and 2) support services that foster positive youth development, such as life skills building and educational and/or vocational advancement. A multi-faceted service and support framework emphasizing education, skill building, trauma resolution, and a safe, supportive environment are at the heart of effective outcomes. A high level of sensitivity to the special needs of homeless female youth and the physical and sexual traumas they have experienced is also essential. These special youth need time to heal, gender-specific, trauma-informed counseling and support services that make healing possible, and the opportunity to build the foundation for a secure future.
Guided by the Framework to End Youth Homelessness and Preventing and Ending Homelessness – A Coordinated Community Response[2], the Lotus House Youth Program provides safe, stable housing to youth for the duration of their high school and/or vocational training within the framework of a trauma-informed, comprehensive and coordinated support system that promotes positive youth development. To address basic needs, youth are provided with clothing, nourishing meals, access to health care, assistance with benefits and other social services, and have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of enrichment activities. Given their unique trauma histories, female youth benefit from gender specific programming to facilitate their healing and development. Evidence based and informed, trauma focused individual and group counseling allow traumatized youth to heal, learn and grow, and build resiliency and greater self-sufficiency for life’s challenges. In addition to individual counseling and life coaching, positive youth development is fostered through a wide range of educational supports (such as school uniforms, supplies, transportation assistance, and school activities, such as field trips, proms, and graduation festivities), life skills building, job training and social activities, designed to build a youth’s capacity to support herself, build self-esteem and avoid future homelessness. With individualized, multi-faceted support and resources, the Lotus House Youth Program provides essential tools to allow homeless unaccompanied young women to heal, thrive, and achieve their promise of a brighter future.
For young mothers with children ages 0 to 5 and women who are homeless and pregnant, our Children and Families Program is designed to provide a nurturing wrap around support system for both mothers and mothers-to-be and their children, together with the added support of evidence based and informed child therapy, child-parent therapy and parenting education, to ensure these fragile families can look forward to a happy and healthy fresh start to their new lives together.