By Carole Hawkins, Staff Writer
A bed, a bookshelf, a chest of drawers. It sounds pretty basic.
But to teens in the Daniel Foundation’s Project Prepare, that’s an entire home.
Those homes, now worn with age, are about to be remodeled.
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors plans to raise $25,000, then on Sept. 15, the group will renovate 10 rooms for homeless teens. They also will buy new furniture and appliances.
“If somebody had walked in and just said they wanted to give me 12 beds, I would have been ecstatic,” said Shelly Davalos, director of Project Prepare. “I don’t know how to say thank you. The word isn’t big enough.”
The foundation houses and cares for children in crisis. They face difficult situations, such as parents who are in jail or separated from them because of a drug addiction.
Many of the teens in the program are too old for foster care, but not ready to be on their own.
“I have three grandsons, ages 16, 17 and 20. Just the thought that one of them being homeless — I can’t even bear that,” said NEFAR president Linda McMorrow.
Project Prepare kids temporarily live at Daniel’s efficiency apartment complex, where they learn skills, like how to take care of a house, follow a budget, comparative shop, write a resume and get a job. They must attend school, hold down a job and pay $200 a month toward expenses until they are able to be on their own.
The home also gives them a place to form friendships with peers who’ve faced similar circumstances.
Some misconceptions about Daniel’s Project Prepare are that the kids are homeless because they ran away or because they were uncompliant and couldn’t be handled by their parents, Davalos said.
“The kids here really are victims of their home life,” she said.
For example, one girl had lived in foster care and was adopted when she was 10. When her father died, her mother became angry and volatile. She eventually kicked the girl out of the house.
The girl spent her senior year of high school at Project Prepare. Next month, she’ll start college at Florida A&M University.
“She’s been successful, but part of that success was knowing where she was going to sleep at night,” Davalos said.
Project Prepare launched 17 years ago, and the apartments and furnishings haven’t been updated since then. Some rooms are missing a dresser. In others, drawers are broken or faucets need replacing.
“God knows how many kids have used them in that time,” Davalos said.
McMorrow, who’s helped the teens in the past, said she was inspired to do more, after the state Realtors association announced this year it would take up the homeless issue.
“I learned the average age of the homeless in Florida is seven years old,” McMorrow said. “I can’t even talk about it without getting emotional.”
Several NEFAR members have contributed to Daniel over the years, McMorrow said. Even after the kids grow up, many stay in touch.
“It’s amazing, if someone pays just a little attention, how much it benefits them,” McMorrow said.
NEFAR has already raised $17,000 for its September work project. Any amount above $25,000 collected will be donated to Daniel, McMorrow said.