learn all about our goals and how we will meet the needs of homeless and runaway youth
Brief Description
Bloom House Youth Services is a 501c3 organization located in Emporia, Kansas. The Bloom House culture is that of acceptance and inclusion for vulnerable, at risk, and homeless youth. Our goals are to first open a Drop In Center created in the Basic Center Program model which will offer shelter and services to homeless and runaway youth under 18 years old, including trauma-informed art therapy and case management services. We believe in using a common sense approach and comprehensive supportive services to ensure a stable and empowered future for young people who need it most. We will open a centrally located basic center that will be open 24/7 and staffed by employees, professional volunteers, and graduate student interns.
Population and Needs to be Addressed
Bloom House Youth Services is intended to help to all runaway and homeless youth; our Basic Center will serve all youth eligible for shelter and services without discrimination. Youth experiencing homelessness need stable, safe shelter and all basic needs such as food, clothing, laundry services, a resource room where youth can access online classes and other educational materials, as well as supportive caring adults, and access to mainstream services which will help them on the path to success. When appropriate and safe to do so, family reunification is a goal, along with building a healthy and safe support system which is crucial to the wellbeing of all youth experiencing homelessness.
Planned Services
Our comprehensive supportive services will be available to all youth who are homeless and housing insecure, these include:
Bloom House Youth Services is a 501c3 organization located in Emporia, Kansas. The Bloom House culture is that of acceptance and inclusion for vulnerable, at risk, and homeless youth. Our goals are to first open a Drop In Center created in the Basic Center Program model which will offer shelter and services to homeless and runaway youth under 18 years old, including trauma-informed art therapy and case management services. We believe in using a common sense approach and comprehensive supportive services to ensure a stable and empowered future for young people who need it most. We will open a centrally located basic center that will be open 24/7 and staffed by employees, professional volunteers, and graduate student interns.
Population and Needs to be Addressed
Bloom House Youth Services is intended to help to all runaway and homeless youth; our Basic Center will serve all youth eligible for shelter and services without discrimination. Youth experiencing homelessness need stable, safe shelter and all basic needs such as food, clothing, laundry services, a resource room where youth can access online classes and other educational materials, as well as supportive caring adults, and access to mainstream services which will help them on the path to success. When appropriate and safe to do so, family reunification is a goal, along with building a healthy and safe support system which is crucial to the wellbeing of all youth experiencing homelessness.
Planned Services
Our comprehensive supportive services will be available to all youth who are homeless and housing insecure, these include:
- Art therapy
- Case management
- Access to laundry services, and a clothing closet within the organization and food via kitchen and meals.
- Education via volunteer and staff led groups and working closely with the local high school, learning center, and FHTC adult education center which also serves youth who have dropped out of high school.
- Employment help via referral to the youth career program at Southeast Kansasworks for youth for whom employment is part of their goals.
- Access to baby supplies, formula, health education, parenting classes, childcare for all pregnant and parenting youth.
- Life skills education led by staff and volunteers for a variety of skills such as money management, time management, computer skills, etc.
- Health education led by health professional volunteers and access to Healthcare services when needed such as prescription medication, connection to local clinic, doctor visits, etc.
- Legal Assistance when necessary by connection with Kansas Legal Services.
- Substance abuse treatment when applicable by referral to Corner House.
- Education about healthy boundaries and safe relationships led by professional volunteers with training in interpersonal violence and working with survivors of human trafficking.
Need For Assistance
The Kansas State Department of Education reported 69 homeless youth and children enrolled in K-12 in Emporia, KS during the 2019-2020 school year; this number only reflects the number of homeless youth and children who were still enrolled in school and not those who had dropped out. The PIT/HIC count from the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not give a clear picture of the number of homeless youth who are often under-counted due to fears of the system, not being aware of the available resources, and the number of homeless youth who are engaged in couch-surfing from home to home who may not end up in a shelter or organization offering supportive services to homeless individuals. A recent report by Chapin Hall found that the chances of a young person experiencing homelessness in rural areas is comparable to those who live in urban areas, however there is a dearth of resources in rural areas. In Kansas, the only other Basic Center is in Wichita, and there are no shelters doing what we aim to do and how we aim to do it in the region. Additionally, Emporia is an exit on Interstate 35 along the way to Kansas City to the North and Wichita to the South, a highway stretching the length of the nation North/South and known to be an active route for human and drug trafficking, which increases the dangers to vulnerable homeless youth in our area. Furthermore, the State Index on Youth Homelessness currently has Kansas at a critically low score of 47/100, particularly where LGBTQ+ youth are concerned. Bloom House Youth Services board is, and staff will be trained on LGBTQ+ issues and the use of affirming language in accordance with Bloom House Youth Services non-descrimination policy. Population served: All homeless and runaway youth under the age of 18 will be served by the Basic Center. Runaway youth is defined as an individual under 18 years of age who absents himself or herself from home or place of legal residence without the permission of a parent or legal guardian. Homeless youth is defined as an individual who cannot live safely with a parent, legal guardian, or relative, and who has no other safe alternative living arrangement. For the purposes of basic center eligibility, a homeless youth must be less than 18 years of age. If not awarded, there will continue to be a severe lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive, trauma-informed services for unaccompanied runaway and homeless youth in the East Central region of Kansas. Currently, we refer youth and young adults to the shelters in the Kansas City Metropolitan area and Wichita within Kansas, and to Tulsa, Oklahoma in our neighboring state to the South.
Approach
Bloom House Youth Services approach is trauma informed, LGBTQ+ inclusive, and youth centered. The following plan of action describes the scope and detail of how we will accomplish our goals.
Shelter
If the grant is awarded, we will immediately search for and rent a location that fits our needs for the Basic Center. Those needs are: the location be centrally located in Emporia within walking distance to the majority of service agencies, that it be easy to locate for youth in need, that there be space for at least 4 individual beds for youth who may require shelter up to 21 days meaning we will be able to serve approximately 68 youth in shelter per year if at maximum capacity; we do not expect to go over this number per year. The building will need to have in addition to individual rooms for youth to ensure privacy, sense of autonomy, and safety, but also an office for mental health services, a kitchen, a front space for congregating in a living room setting, a front desk area at the very front for youth in crisis to reach a staff member at all times, a laundry room, and a room for access to computers and resources for education, and a room clothing, hygiene products, toiletries, etc which will be sourced via donations from the community and made freely available for the youth in shelter. Ideally this will be a two story single family style home or a multi-family home which can easily be modified to our specifications. Commercial buildings with multiple rooms on a second story and all the necessary kitchen, bathroom, and laundry facilities will also be acceptable. Shelter will be in congregate care setting open 24/7.
Outreach
Outreach will be accomplished by meeting with the school counselors of all area high schools, meeting with all community organizations who may be likely to see homeless youth at some point, such as the juvenile justice system, the american job center Kansasworks, the domestic violence shelter SOS, charities serving people in economic need such as the East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation, Catholic Charities, and the United Way of the Flint Hills. We will also focus on putting up fliers at rest stops, truck stops, gas stations, bars, hospitals, clinics, and public restrooms. We will continue to be an active member of our COC and outreach to all our fellow organizational members. We will also continue to communicate our services, particularly if we are awarded the grant and are able to open our Basic Center Program, on the local radio stations and local newspaper.
The Kansas State Department of Education reported 69 homeless youth and children enrolled in K-12 in Emporia, KS during the 2019-2020 school year; this number only reflects the number of homeless youth and children who were still enrolled in school and not those who had dropped out. The PIT/HIC count from the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not give a clear picture of the number of homeless youth who are often under-counted due to fears of the system, not being aware of the available resources, and the number of homeless youth who are engaged in couch-surfing from home to home who may not end up in a shelter or organization offering supportive services to homeless individuals. A recent report by Chapin Hall found that the chances of a young person experiencing homelessness in rural areas is comparable to those who live in urban areas, however there is a dearth of resources in rural areas. In Kansas, the only other Basic Center is in Wichita, and there are no shelters doing what we aim to do and how we aim to do it in the region. Additionally, Emporia is an exit on Interstate 35 along the way to Kansas City to the North and Wichita to the South, a highway stretching the length of the nation North/South and known to be an active route for human and drug trafficking, which increases the dangers to vulnerable homeless youth in our area. Furthermore, the State Index on Youth Homelessness currently has Kansas at a critically low score of 47/100, particularly where LGBTQ+ youth are concerned. Bloom House Youth Services board is, and staff will be trained on LGBTQ+ issues and the use of affirming language in accordance with Bloom House Youth Services non-descrimination policy. Population served: All homeless and runaway youth under the age of 18 will be served by the Basic Center. Runaway youth is defined as an individual under 18 years of age who absents himself or herself from home or place of legal residence without the permission of a parent or legal guardian. Homeless youth is defined as an individual who cannot live safely with a parent, legal guardian, or relative, and who has no other safe alternative living arrangement. For the purposes of basic center eligibility, a homeless youth must be less than 18 years of age. If not awarded, there will continue to be a severe lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive, trauma-informed services for unaccompanied runaway and homeless youth in the East Central region of Kansas. Currently, we refer youth and young adults to the shelters in the Kansas City Metropolitan area and Wichita within Kansas, and to Tulsa, Oklahoma in our neighboring state to the South.
Approach
Bloom House Youth Services approach is trauma informed, LGBTQ+ inclusive, and youth centered. The following plan of action describes the scope and detail of how we will accomplish our goals.
Shelter
If the grant is awarded, we will immediately search for and rent a location that fits our needs for the Basic Center. Those needs are: the location be centrally located in Emporia within walking distance to the majority of service agencies, that it be easy to locate for youth in need, that there be space for at least 4 individual beds for youth who may require shelter up to 21 days meaning we will be able to serve approximately 68 youth in shelter per year if at maximum capacity; we do not expect to go over this number per year. The building will need to have in addition to individual rooms for youth to ensure privacy, sense of autonomy, and safety, but also an office for mental health services, a kitchen, a front space for congregating in a living room setting, a front desk area at the very front for youth in crisis to reach a staff member at all times, a laundry room, and a room for access to computers and resources for education, and a room clothing, hygiene products, toiletries, etc which will be sourced via donations from the community and made freely available for the youth in shelter. Ideally this will be a two story single family style home or a multi-family home which can easily be modified to our specifications. Commercial buildings with multiple rooms on a second story and all the necessary kitchen, bathroom, and laundry facilities will also be acceptable. Shelter will be in congregate care setting open 24/7.
Outreach
Outreach will be accomplished by meeting with the school counselors of all area high schools, meeting with all community organizations who may be likely to see homeless youth at some point, such as the juvenile justice system, the american job center Kansasworks, the domestic violence shelter SOS, charities serving people in economic need such as the East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation, Catholic Charities, and the United Way of the Flint Hills. We will also focus on putting up fliers at rest stops, truck stops, gas stations, bars, hospitals, clinics, and public restrooms. We will continue to be an active member of our COC and outreach to all our fellow organizational members. We will also continue to communicate our services, particularly if we are awarded the grant and are able to open our Basic Center Program, on the local radio stations and local newspaper.
Local Resources
Youth experiencing homeless may not know what resources are available to them.
We will connect them to the services they need by working closely with the following organizations!
(Are you part of an organization that should be listed here? Get in touch so we can add your information.)
LOOKING FOR RESOURCES? Click the logos below!
We will connect them to the services they need by working closely with the following organizations!
(Are you part of an organization that should be listed here? Get in touch so we can add your information.)
LOOKING FOR RESOURCES? Click the logos below!
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we take safety and compliance seriously
Staff and youth safety will be provided by a policy of no less than two staff or volunteers scheduled at any point in time, and a camera security system in place for all entrances and common areas. Background checks will be required for all hires, internships, and volunteers. No less than two months after opening, the board will vote on and approve an emergency preparedness plan for contingencies for all manner of potential emergency scenarios; staff, volunteers, and interns will be trained based on this policy. All Residential/Group Home placement providers must be licensed under DCF Foster Care and Residential Facility Licensing and meet the DCF/PPS Placement Standards and requirements in the Child Welfare Handbook of Client Purchases in order to obtain a provider agreement with DCF Because we are implementing a new facility, we will require an onsite review conducted by DCF regional staff. Bloom House Youth Services will initiate the process by contacting the local DCF office as soon as possible upon procurement of the location and all hiring is complete.
What kind of building capacity do we need?
We are looking for a building that will have space for three staff offices, a common area, kitchen, laundry room, beds for up to 4 youth at a time, calm down space, a clothing and hygiene closet, bathrooms, and storage space.
Bloom House is an active member of the Kansas Board of State Continuum of Care and will use the HMIS system Clarity.
Bloom House is a member of Emporia MainStreet.
Bloom House is a member of Emporia MainStreet.
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