Hearts & Homes for Youth has launched a GoFundMe campaign to ask for your help to raise money to create a job readiness program and hire a full-time vocational coach who would spend time with the youth at our group homes and the young mothers in our care, to provide them with resume building assistance, vocational training, mock interviews, professional etiquette workshops, job search assistance, educational guidance, computer literacy training, and career advice. The vocational coach would build and maintain relationships with local employers who are willing and able to hire the youth in our care. We need to raise at least $35,000 to hire a full-time vocational coach for one year.
Click here to donate to our campaign to hire a Vocational Coach!
The intended outcome of the job readiness program is for the youth in our care to develop their vocational skills and attain gainful employment. When the youth identify their career interests, the vocational coach would ensure they complete the appropriate industry recognized certifications, such as Certified Control Systems Technician, Certified Automation Professional, Certified Welder, and other certifications to enhance their career capabilities.
The job readiness program would help us advance the mission of our organization, to empower youth and prepare them to make positive life decisions and become independent adults. A job training program would better enable us to help the youth attain gainful employment, reduce the symptoms of mental health issues, and set them up for success. With a steady income, an improved sense of self worth, and vocational training, the youth will be less dependent on public assistance, more capable of moving out of the realm of poverty, and better able to afford food, shelter, and basic needs.
The Target population is on average 16.9 years old and roughly 69% are male. Our youth come from across the state of Maryland; 36% of the youth come from Baltimore, 25% from Prince George’s County, and 16% from Montgomery County. 82% of the youth are African American, 8% are Hispanic, 7% are Caucasian, and 3% identify as Other/Bi-racial. 100% of the youth in our care are low income.
The youth in the care of Hearts & Homes for Youth have overcome adversity and have been referred to us by the Department of Juvenile Services as an alternative to detention, or by the Department of Social Services to remove them from an unsafe environment. Our mission is to empower and support these survivors, help them build a community of support and acceptance, and help them make positive life decisions so they can become independent adults and reach their fullest potential. A critical component of youth having the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential is an understanding of their ability to provide for themselves.
By attaining practical work experience, the youth will be prepared for the current needs of the labor market, link their competencies with employers’ needs, build a supportive community for themselves, and develop a sense of worth, motivation and responsibility. By helping the youth develop an understanding of the value of their time and work, the vocational education may minimize the dropout rate, increase financial independence, and set the youth up for success in the long run.
Please help us provide this life changing program for all of the youth in our care!
Dear Federal Employees,
The week of the project, Hearts & Homes staff members from our central office went to the group home to repair small dents in the walls and do some prep for the next day’s work. Then, on Friday and Saturday, a group of Marines stationed at Fort Meade came and painted the home for us. The Marines, their families, and Hearts & Homes staff members provided a total of 230 hours of labor. To put that in perspective, if a business was doing the job, that would have cost $10,350 just in labor. Paint would have been around $1,000, depending on brand/quality. Including supplies, the total cost would have been right around $12,000.