Committed to improving the safety and well-being of displaced abused, neglected and vulnerable youth.
Youth Shelter and Residential Services
Licensed every two years through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Open House is a 24-hour access, 9-bed emergency shelter for troubled, runaway, homeless, abused, neglected and other displaced youth in the community. As of December 2010, Open House Youth Shelter was approved as a Residential Foster Care Facility through the state of NC. This provides some youth the opportunity to make their stay at Open House permanent until their 19th birthday. Youth ages 6 to 18 are eligible for services. Open House provides a positive peer community and encourages youth’s personal growth through skill building and counseling, providing for basic food, clothing and shelter needs, as well as long-term residential services. In addition to providing youth with basic food, clothing and shelter necessities, to ensure they are safe and not resorting to unsafe/unlawful independent living skills, Open House provides confidential clinical services for each individual youth and their families, while they are in shelter care, and for a period of three months after discharge, to maximize the success of the family reunification plan.
Transitional Living Program
Funded by the Family Youth and Services Bureau, the Open House Transitional Living Program serves young men and women between the ages of 16 and 21 years old that need support when making the shift from adolescence into adulthood. The #1 goal of the Transitional Living Program is to nurture a young adult’s successful launch into adulthood by providing safe, stable housing and education on fundamental life skills. The program assists young adults with obtaining housing and provides monthly rental assistance while he or she is in the program. Core life skills classes, such as job attainment, and organized social activities are offered in the program. A Case Manager is available to each young adult to provide personalized support, service connection and 24/7 crisis response. Individualized transitional living plans are developed with each young adult and a case manager to foster self-sufficient living during and after the young adult’s program experience. Participants receive program services for up to 12 months as well as an additional 90 to 365 of aftercare services.
Maternity Housing Program
The purpose of the FYSB-funded Maternity Housing Program is to promote long-term economic independence to ensure the well-being of youth and their children. The Maternity Housing Program supports homeless pregnant and/or parenting young people between the ages of 16 and 22, as well as their dependent children. Services are provided for up to 21 months. The goal of the program is to teach young people parenting skills as well as child development, family budgeting, health and nutrition, and other skills.
Someone to Help.
Why Youth Need a Safe Place
Youth experience many unsafe situations which may include abuse, dating, violence, problems at home, at schools or with peers, an unsafe driver, being locked or kicked out, and homelessness due to circumstances beyond their control. Youth also leave home for many reasons, such as drug or alcohol problems of a family member who are neglectful or abusive or who make the youth leave. Many times, home is not a choice they want to make. National agencies estimate that over one million young people run away from home each year.
Safe Place is a nationally acclaimed youth outreach program that involves the whole community to provide safe havens and resources for youth in crisis. It is a way for community youth services agencies to partner with businesses, schools, and other community organizations to help young people.
The program creates a network of “Safe Place” locations (youth friendly business, schools, fire stations, libraries, bus stations, and other public buildings) that displays the safe place sign.
These Safe Place locations extend the doors of the youth service agency or shelter throughout the community, making it easier for youth to get immediate help in their own neighborhoods.
Any youth texting 44357 (4HELP) will receive a response that includes the option to reply with “2chat” for more help, which will then link them to the interactive texting center to chat with a trained mental health professional.
If you have a business and would like to make a youth feel safer, please contact Open House Youth Shelter at 910-392-7408.