Emergency Youth Shelter Program
The emergency youth shelter provides short-term supportive housing for up to 37 youth ages 6-18 every night. The highly-individualized program is designed to meet the immediate needs of homeless youth and to equip them with the tools they need to grow into healthy, independent adults. More than 95% of program participants exit into a stable home environment. Although clients typically stay in the program for less than 90 days, they can remain enrolled until our case managers locate a stable alternative living arrangement. During their time in our care, we provide youth with the following no-cost services:
- Basic necessities including shelter, food, clothing, personal hygiene products, and medical and dental care.
- Education services. Youth either attend our on-site Dallas Independent School District-certified classrooms or enroll at a DISD campus near Promise House. Outside of the classroom, the shelter provides educational opportunities through field trips, community service projects, social activities, and ways to engage with volunteers.
- Mental health care. Group and individual counseling and on-site psychiatric care help clients to understand and care for mental problems that might otherwise prevent them from achieving success both during and after their stay at Promise House.
- Family therapy designed to teach constructive parenting techniques and communication skills.
- Life and job skills training. During their time in care, all youth receive age-appropriate life skills training. Some examples include financial literacy, cooking, healthy communication skills, and college and career readiness.
The program is open to all youth, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, CPS status or juvenile justice system involvement. For more information or to enroll in our Emergency Youth Shelter Program, please call our Intake, Assessment, and Diversion Team at 214-941-8578 ext 500.
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Sponsor an outing/passes for 15 youth to attend Ice Skating, A Drive-In Movie, Bowling, Dallas Aquarium or another great attraction! This is a great way for the youth to experience a great adventure during the holidays!
You and your group of friends or co-workers can host a virtual donation drive to help the youth of Promise House this holiday season. Set up a drive at your workplace, church or social group, or request guests of your virtual holiday party to bring an item from our Holiday Wish List! Apparel, bedding and gift cards are great examples of well-used drive items. Promise House accepts new and unused items.
The youth will use their imagination by creating various D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) projects such as Handprint Christmas Wreaths, Door Signs, Jewelry Beading, Gingerbread houses, Santa’s Hats and/or Stockings or Christmas ornaments. Donate Holiday Materials and/or Gingerbread Kits for the youth to enjoy!
Sponsor a meal (lunch or dinner). Food suggestions: Pasta, Tacos, Chicken, BBQ, Vegetables, etc. Soda beverages are prohibited/Ice Tea, Fruit Punch and Juice are accepted. Please prep/cater your meal for 25 youth and 6-8 Essential Staff. Note, we cannot guarantee the number of youth. Delivery Hours: 11 AM and 3 PM
Sponsor a meal (lunch or dinner). Food suggestions: Pasta, Tacos, Chicken, BBQ, Vegetables, etc. Soda beverages are prohibited/Ice Tea, Fruit Punch and Juice are accepted. Please prep/cater your meal for 25 youth and 6-8 Essential Staff. Note, we cannot guarantee the number of youth. Delivery Hours: 11 AM and 3 PM
COVID-19 Update
Youth homelessness doesn’t stop – so we can’t either
Homeless youth need our help right now, more than ever. In this time of extreme uncertainty we are their constants and our commitment to meet their needs is unwavering. We know that the young people we serve are especially vulnerable given that they lack resources necessary for adequate healthcare and housing. Every day, Promise House leads the way in providing youth in our community access to the most basic needs – shelter, nourishment and access to healthcare. We will continue to provide compassionate care and meet the needs of the youth in our shelters.
Promise House is continuing to closely monitor the current state of affairs regarding COVID-19 across the nation and the implications in our local community. We are taking all measures necessary to safeguard the health and safety of our staff and youth in care working out detailed policies and procedures for how we will handle a quarantine (both of a single individual and for an entire facility).
In order to help minimize risk to youth we serve, Promise House is immediately taking the following actions:
- Any youth who is assessed through the Promise House intake process will be screened for potential exposure and youth who are determined to have been at risk of exposure will be screened by a medical professional before they are cleared for intake into one of our programs.
- We have developed an Emergency Response Plan in the event that a youth in care has to be quarantined at Promise House.
- Until further notice, Promise House facilities are closed to visitors and all volunteer activities on-campus are suspended. Donors dropping off donated goods will be instructed to leave the items at the 224 W. Page entrance for staff to retrieve.
- Because social distancing is one of the most effective ways that we can limit exposure to the virus, and we want to provide the most effective safeguards against our youth in care being exposed to this dangerous virus, all non-essential staff that do not work directly with youth have been moved to a remote work plan.
As you will seek shelter and protection for your family, we will protect and represent our youth. We are their voice. We are their home. We are their family. During this time of uncertainty, we anticipate increased needs and a spike in requests for our services. Because of our generous supporters, we will be ready to answer the call.
Promise House Spring 2020 Job Fair (1)