| The AFG
Shelter provides a safe, stable living and learning environment
for homeless young women (ages 16-21) who are not being served by
the foster care or judicial systems.
Facility
The current AFG Shelter
was built in 2002 to address the growing need of homeless young
women in metro Detroit. It can house up to 35 young women and up
to 10 of their children at any given time. The shelter is organized
into three wings: one for minors, one for residents with children,
and a third for adults. Resembling a college residence hall, the
shelter is laid out into suites, with two modest rooms on either
side of a shared bathroom. Two residents share each room. In the
family wing, mother and child reside together. The shelter also
includes a commercial kitchen, a laundry room and a recreation/activity
room. In 2007, a Bright Space will be added to the shelter. Funded
by the Bright Spaces Foundation, this playroom is designed especially
for homeless children.
Transition
to Independent Living Program (TIL)
Young women in residence
beyond two weeks must enter the TIL Program. TIL requires residents
to be enrolled in an education program (i.e., General Equivalency
Diploma, vocational/technical program; two- or four-year college
or university), to engage in counseling to address personal and
family issues and challenges; to prepare for, seek and obtain employment;
and to participate in programming to develop or strengthen life
skills (e.g., financial literacy, healthful meal planning and shopping,
and successful parenting and nurturing).
Fast
Facts
The AFG Shelter:
- Is staffed by a director,
an associate director, resident advisors, case planners and curriculum
coordinators who counsel residents and help them acquire the skills
they need to lead independent, productive and fulfilling lives.
- Provided 8,909 Nights
of Care to homeless young women and their children during the
last fiscal year.
- Provided services
to 145 young women and 30 children during the last fiscal year.
- Provides after-care
services to former residents for up to 18 months after they exit
the shelter.
- Provides a curriculum-based
parenting/nurturing program for pregnant and parenting young women
called Project: MOMMA.
- Enlists volunteer
foster grandparents to help provide child care for parenting residents
while they participate in programming.
Partners
The AFG Shelter is supported
in part by:
- Bank One
- City of Detroit
- Christ Church Cranbrook
- Christ Church Grosse
Pointe
- Community Foundation
for Southeastern Michigan
- MI DHS
- ESG
- FEMA
- Forgotten Harvest
- Gannett Foundation
- HUD
- Junior League of Detroit
- McGregor Fund
- Metro Health Foundation
- Michigan Women’s
Foundation
- The Skillman Foundation
- U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
- W.K. Kellogg
Foundation
For
more information, please contact:
Patricia
Swift, MSW
Director, AFG Shelter
Phone: (313) 361-4000
Fax: (313) 361-8938
E-mail: pswift@alternativesforgirls.org
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| Young women working
on their independence by looking for employment. |
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