Overtowns Lotus House begins new construction
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In 2018, the organization debuted the state-of-the-art Lotus Village, which has set national standards for shelter design, operation, and programming. Today, more than 80 percent of the shelter’s guests successfully exit the shelter system following their time at Lotus Village, far exceeding the national average of between 60 and 65 percent. Undeterred by the pandemic, Lotus House served a record-breaking number of people last year, sheltering 1,526 women, youth, and children through December of 2021. Lotus Village has invested heavily in operational protocols aimed at ensuring the health and well-being of shelter guests – from deep cleaning protocols to investments in UV light technology that eliminates airborne bacteria. The shelter also introduced programs and therapies to assist children and adults in adapting to the realities of the pandemic. Shelter guests have had access to weekly COVID-19 testing and vaccine administration onsite.
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Now the organization that helped Resper get ahead has broken ground on Lotus Village, a building that will serve as a shelter and community center and will include a daycare center, a holistic health clinic, a library with computers, and gardens for recreation and the healing The project will cost about $25 million. From helping serve a meal, organizing a supply closet, to hosting a workshop or activity- volunteers make a life changing difference in the lives of the women and children we shelter. Women come to Lotus House through referrals from homeless outreach, shelters, safe houses, rehab centers, prisons, hospitals and courts, as well as the streets.
Miami women’s shelter finds success for its guests comes with care
Lotus House is truly setting the standard on a national level for best practices and innovation. In comprehensive, multi-faceted programming and support services, together, we help women, youth and children emerge from the shadows, give voice to their dreams, and build the foundation for safer, healthier, brighter futures. Development of The Children’s Village represents a natural next phase for Lotus House, filling critical gaps and expanding essential therapeutic and educational supports for both the children and youth they shelter and those who live nearby. Currently, children aged newborn to three access the United Way Center for Early Education and Childcare housed within the shelter.
Our Partners in Ending Homelessness
Partners will include the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition, Legal Services of Greater Miami, Overtown Optimist Club, Urgent Inc., Miami Mindful Kids, Alliance for LGBTQ Youth, Nana’s Restart, Girl Power Rocks, Easterseals, and Lotus Children’s Services, in addition to a coalition of health and wellness providers. In the U.S., one-third of the homeless population is women and girls — and their experiences of homelessness are markedly different from that of men and boys. Knowing this, the researchers looked at why women’s specific services are key to addressing women’s unique experiences of homelessness, in addition to their overall health and wellbeing. Lotus House serves women who are homeless, whether due to domestic violence, untreated medical or mental illness, disability or economic reasons.
Sheltering Over 11,000 Women and Children Experiencing Homelessness Since 2006
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Mothers provided with evidence-based trauma resolution therapy and strong supportive parenting skills can positively impact everything from their child’s chances of high school graduation to their long term health and wellness and success in the work force as adults. Lotus House is committed to providing child and family centered services that promote trauma resolution in both children and mothers. In holistic child and family centered programming and support services, Lotus House helps these special women and their children emerge from the shadows, give voice to their dreams and aspirations, and become who they are meant to be.
Therapy and Supportive Services
The facility includes a special maternity wing for women who are homeless and pregnant and their infants. In The Children’s Village, Lotus Endowment continues and deepens its commitment to the important work of Lotus House changing and transforming the trauma of homelessness into a window of opportunity for children to heal, learn, grow and thrive and preventing and ending homelessness. The findings been shared with Lotus House leadership and staff — including Program Coordinator Jackie Roth and Wellness Director Rai Johnson, a Lotus House alumna — who will use them as a guide as the organization shapes current and future operations, programs and policies.
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Inspired by this study, Lotus House is currently conducting a national survey of women’s shelters to gather and share information on challenges and best practices. Asia Eaton's Psychology Today blog dives deepers in what a "culture of care" looks like and how it can be a way shelters, as well as other types of organizations can enhance and improve peoples' lives. Since the 1980’s, studies have indicated that gender-specific programming is critical to effective outcomes for women.
Our programs are designed to provide them with access to the tools and resources they need to secure full or part-time employment and become economically independent. The Children’s Village will also serve as home to other community-based nonprofits, offering an array of resources and programming for children and youth and their families in Overtown and surrounding neighborhoods. A quiet enclave with lush gardens, Lotus House offers a sanctuary – a place where the minds, bodies and spirits of women and infants most in need are supported, nurtured, uplifted and afforded an opportunity to learn and grow on every level. The first initiative of the Foundation was the establishment of the Lotus House Women’s Shelter in 2006 in the heart of Overtown, Miami serving homeless women. During infancy and early childhood, children develop their capacity for trust, self-esteem, conscience, empathy, problem solving, focused learning and self-control.
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The Children’s Village will continue that educational continuum and provide enriched supports through the pre-school years and beyond, including high school. Educational workshops and a host of enrichment activities, including art, creative writing, yoga, dance, and crafts, offer alternative paths to healing, self exploration, growth and creative expression. Pre-natal care, birthing and parenting classes, and infant medical care and screening are also arranged for pregnant women and infants, along with needed maternity and infant supplies and day care assistance. With a multi-faceted and coordinated approach, Lotus House seeks to provide the full continuum of resources, tools and education needed to empower these special women to build a safe, secure and better way of life for themselves and their children. “By co-locating with other non-profits within The Children’s Village, we are establishing a new model for unprecedented collaboration, community engagement, cooperation, and holistic support for children and families.
Understanding what constitutes a specific culture, though, is critical to addressing homelessness. With this study, the collaborative research team developed a blueprint that can be applied to other shelters, regardless of size or financial resources. Lotus House Holistic Programming utilizes the healing arts to create alternative pathways to wholeness for women, youth and children whose lives have been marked by trauma. Our guests benefit from holistic programming classes scheduled daily, engaging all ages in therapeutic activities aimed at creative expression through the arts, exercise, yoga, dance and movement, fieldtrips and a wide range of activities.
We are a leader in addressing the special needs of homeless women, youth and children with innovative, holistic, evidence based solutions to break the cycle of childhood abuse, domestic violence and homelessness. If the dreams come true of those we serve, we are all enriched by the fruit of their potential realized. Our Education Program allows women and youth to further their education and employment goals, and improve the quality of their lives through varying educational supports such as tutoring, basic supplies, college counseling and more. Our job readiness training program supports, uplifts, and empowers the women and youth at Lotus House to achieve greater financial self-sufficiency.
More than 300 members of the community attended, including City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book and Miami-Dade County Deputy Mayor Russell Benford. Several Lotus House alumni who have transitioned to homes outside the shelter system welcomed attendees, including many children who were newborns at Lotus House. GracesList.org is an emergency services directory offering a list of local homeless shelters, churches, food banks and other emergency services. Many of the women had spent time in other shelters where they didn’t feel safe and no one knew their name. With the new building, the administrators hope to increase the number of residents to 350 and provide more services for others who do not live in the shelter.
Financing for the project was arranged by The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, US Bancorp Community Development Corporation, Florida Community Loan Fund, and Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. Construction is expected to last between 15 and 18 months with an aim to open in time for the school year in the fall of 2024. Other items should be taken to our donation center located at Lotus House Thrift Chic Boutique. Sign up to stay up to date with the latest in Miami residential and commercial real estate news and content.
It is a time of intense growth and development in all areas, including a child’s intellectual, social and emotional development, laying the foundation for their success in school and later life. When their needs are met by positive and consistent early experiences with loving caregivers and nurturing environments, babies and young children thrive. We have an opportunity to mend broken bonds and the trauma leading to homelessness with an inclusive, welcoming sanctuary designed to heal. Staying awake through the night out of fear, they sleep on buses and in airports, hospitals, abandoned buildings, backyards and alleyways in a desperate attempt to find shelter each night without being detected. Physically vulnerable, homeless women and female youth are at heightened risk of sexual assault, human trafficking and violence in its many forms.
Development of the Children’s Village kicked-off during a groundbreaking ceremony on April 25th at the project site, located at 219 NW 14th Terrace in Miami’s historic Overtown District. Hundreds of neighbors and community stakeholders attended, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, City of Miami Commission Chair Christine King, City of Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes, and The Children's Trust of Miami-Dade County President & CEO James Haj. “[Lotus House] is an oasis and represents a second chance for many people to get their lives back on track,” said Miami-Dade County Assistant Mayor Russell Benford.
Not only is the experience of homelessness by women gender specific, so too are many of the reasons they experience homelessness. The overwhelming majority of the women we serve at Lotus House are victims of physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, trafficking, violent crime or other severe traumas. Women fleeing domestic violence and other forms of abuse are forced to give up homes, jobs, support systems and more to escape, too often only to find themselves at equal or greater risk of danger in homeless shelters and on the street. Lotus House provides free transitional housing and wrap around support services with access to a wide range of resources to approximately 520 women, youth and children daily. With a holistic, gender specific and innovative format, Lotus House seeks to empower women to improve the quality of their lives on every level, achieve greater self sufficiency and transition to permanent homes off the streets.
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