By Caroline Frey and Riley Miller Staff Writers In Red Lion Area School District, there are 65 students enrolled who are homeless, and at least 6 teenage mothers. Programs such as The Children’s Home of York and the Haven Home for Girls support these students. “They support me physically, they give me a roof. The home is too sweet not to be safe,” Red Lion Area Senior High School junior Brianna* said. Brianna, 17, greatly appreciates all that the Haven Home has done for her. In order to create a better life for Brianna, the staff helped her get a job, provides computer access, and emotionally supports her. The Children’s Home of York is an organization that helps children and families in Pennsylvania who are in need. For more than 150 years, the home has provided many programs and services that help find children a home. Seven miles south, the Haven Home for Girls is a nonprofit organization that provides mothers, soon to be or current, with the programs and services they need to grow. The home is recently going through some financial struggles to continue the operation of the services. However it is scary for Brianna to think about the Haven Home for Girls running low on money, but she knows that the staff will keep her safe and protect her no matter what. The three year lease put on the Haven Home for Girls recently expired, so the staff has been paying monthly rent to keep the house on its feet. The goal of the staff is to officially buy the home used for the Haven Home for Girls. Overall, at least $40,000 is needed to put a down payment on the house. The Haven Home for Girls and The Children’s Home of York provide many programs to help children and teens improve and learn lessons. Without funds, these programs could decrease in quality, impacting what the teenage mothers and young children take away from the lessons. At The Children’s Home of York, Vice President of Development and Marketing Jill Troutman works to fund the programs to keep the agency running and improving. “The requirements of working here are difficult. You have to be intensive. The staff, along with the help from the community makes it all happen and keeps the agency in business,” Troutman said. Since the Haven Home for Girls and The Children’s Home of York are nonprofit organizations, the money contributed to the home by sponsors and donors is very useful. “Without the financial support of the York community, the Children’s Home of York cannot continue to provide the same quality and diversity of services that it does today,” according to the organization’s website. Case Manager Amelia Thomas, 22, started a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the Haven Home for Girls. The page’s purpose is to bring in donations from the public to use for the benefit of the home. The staff at the Haven Home for Girls has been able to use their skills and the money provided well enough to keep the home running, but they have trouble providing more than necessities to the girls. “The point of the house is to provide a better life for the girls. Lately, we have been able to provide the bare minimum, but nothing extra to support the girls. Donations aren’t simply monetary. We need everything so the girls can live, anything helps,” Thomas said. The money to support these homes is not guaranteed, which leads to children and teens in danger of losing their shelter and support.
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