RAISING HEALTHY KIDS

KidsHealthyRaising TRULY TAKES A VILLAGE By Gaylene Salomons and Cathy Chestnut When there is a murmur of a need among Collier County’s population of 75,000 children, the calls for help are answered—evidenced by the large number of local charities focused on children. Large or small, these charities are making a lifetime of difference in the LAST GALA SEASON, NONPROFITS DREAMED health and wellbeing of tomorrow’s leaders, teachers, and parents. UP INNOVATIVE ADAPTATIONS FOR THEIR SIGNATURE FUNDRAISING EVENTS

By Anne Miller

Youth Haven

A HOME WHEN THERE IS NONE

Founded in Collier County in 1972, Youth Haven is the only emergency and residential shelter in Collier County for boys and girls ages 10 to 19 and the only emergency shelter for homeless teens in Southwest Florida. Located on an 18.5-acre campus in East Naples, it is the last resort for minors removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or homelessness. A de facto home, Youth Haven is an oasis of compassion, counseling, emotional and educational support, and other vital services.

Because of the critical role it plays in young people's lives, Youth Haven received generous funding in 2022, including $300,000 from the Naples Children & Education Foundation for its foster care programs and Homeless Teen Transitional Living Program. The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation provided $75,000 for an enhanced security system, and its food and nutrition services program was supported by grants of $35,000 from the Collier Community Foundation and $10,000 from Empty Bowls Naples. A $10,000 grant from the West Bay Community Charitable Foundation will establish a therapeutic music program.

Local real estate broker Lee Willis learned about Youth Haven 10 years ago during a Greater

Naples Leadership Class and has been committed ever since. She serves on the board of directors and is a founding member of Youth Haven’s Ambassador Circle, which was established in 2021 to support the organization by inviting donors and potential supporters to volunteer one-on-one with the children. “Once you tour the campus, you want to become involved,” Willis says.

Above: A quiet spot on the Youth Haven campus. Right and below: Youth Haven Ambassador Circle members celebrate Merci Hyppolite's 2020 graduation from Golden Gate High School.

MERCI’S STORY

At only a year-and-a-half old, Merci Hyppolite became a resident at Youth Haven of Southwest Florida. Although her mom would try to remain in her life and provide care whenever she could, Hyppolite was frequently in and out of foster homes. A native Neapolitan, Hyppolite, now 21, is the youngest of fi ve children with four older brothers. At 18, Hyppolite found herself once again living with her mom and stepdad in what she calls “a toxic situation.” At the time, Hyppolite just wanted to fi nish high school but, as a couch surfer, on some days she had no clothes, no ride, and no place to shower. That’s when Hyppolite discovered Rob’s Cottage. Opened in April 2018 on the Youth Haven campus, Rob’s Cottage is a voluntary transitional living environment that provides 24-hour care for young adults working toward self-suffi ciency. The residents receive educational support, nutritious meals, and transportation, as well as medical and mental health services. Although there is no charge to live at Rob’s Cottage, the teens are expected to work and save 40 percent of their earnings, says Youth Haven Director of Development Laura Lafakis.

Despite its strict rules, Hyppolite wasn’t apprehensive about moving into the cottage. “I had nothing to lose,” she remembers. “I was only interested in saving money.” Hyppolite worked as a barista at Starbucks and freelance hairstylist. She was able to buy a car. When she graduated from Golden Gate High School in 2020, she was one of six Youth Haven residents to graduate from high school that year. She earned her associate degree in nursing in spring 2022 from Florida SouthWestern State College and now lives in her own apartment.

Hyppolite is planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing and perhaps one day becoming a traveling nurse. She is funding independent living and future academics by working as a Naples Community Hospital nutrition services supervisor.

Youth Haven is like a home to Hyppolite—a place where she is always welcome, especially on holidays. “Youth Haven helped me heal, grow, and fl ourish,” says Hyppolite. “I would not have been able to turn my dreams into reality without their support.”

CHILDREN TOP-OF-MIND AT

Epic Festival

The Naples Winter Wine Festival— one of the most successful charity wine auctions in the world—was launched in 2001 to raise serious funds for the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) to make a profound and sustaining diff erence in the lives of underserved and at-risk children in Collier Country. To date, the annual festival has raised $245 million. More than 50 local nonprofi ts are benefi ciaries of its grants and 300,000 children have been impacted through NCEF’s program investments.

The foundation’s 2023 Fund a Need will support its suite of strategic health care initiatives, with a special emphasis on mental health. “Our goal is to ensure access to primary care, allowing early detection and treatment of disease, behavioral health issues, and other health concerns in local kids,” says 2023 Naples Winter Wine Festival Co-chair Libby Germain.

Generous attendees will no doubt return to shatter 2022’s record-breaking, $23 million success. As always, what is raised in Collier Country, stays in Collier County.

Kids’ Minds Matter

A PEDIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH TRAILBLAZER

There is a critical shortage of pediatric mental and behavioral health services nationwide, and Southwest Florida children and families are certainly not exempt from this crisis.

Kids’ Minds Matter, an initiative of Lee Health and Golisano Children’s Hospital, is raising awareness and funds to ensure children receive a full continuum of mental and behavioral health at the right place and time. Through the Mental Health Navigator program, local families are getting help by receiving customized, one-on-one navigational support. It is funded by private donations through the Kids’ Minds Matter fund at Lee Health. The 2022 Kids’ Minds Matter gala raised more than $950,000 to support the services.

Mental Health Navigators work with struggling youth and their entire family typically identifi ed through the Lee and Collier school districts and in Golisano’s emergency department. Since Kids’ Minds Matter was founded in 2016, the number of visits with Golisano providers (including psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers) has grown from 7,000 to nearly 24,000—with the time to get an appointment with a counselor dropping from 12 months to two months. Plans are also in the works to add three new clinics in Southwest Florida.

Snapshots

WHERE THERE IS AN UNMET NEED, A CLEVER COLLIER COUNTY ORGANIZATION IS CREATED TO ADDRESS IT. FROM BEDDING TO FREE BOOKS, THESE ARE A FEW OF THE UNIQUE WAYS THAT NONPROFITS HAVE STEPPED UP

• Since it began as a grassroots eff ort in 2005, Laces of Love has provided more than 250,000 children in need in Collier and Lee counties with new shoes, ranging from toddlers through high school seniors.

Children are selected by a school counselor or nurse, teacher, or principal, or by a staff member or director of a children’s nonprofi t. Laces of

Love has partnered with more than three dozen organizations. than three dozen organizations. • Books For Collier Kids is an all-volunteer organization in its second decade that provides free books to pre-kindergarten through second-grade students at Title 1 Collier County elementary schools, where 75 percent or more of the students’ families are fi nancially disadvantaged. Literacy is one of the best predictors of a child’s future academic success, which can help break the cycle of poverty. Books for Collier Kids gives a new book each month—120,000 each year—to 10,000 children at 26 elementary schools and participants in two dozen organizations, including Head Start,

Collier Habitat, Fun Time Early Childhood Academy, and Grace Place for Children & Families. • Since 2008, 90,000 children have participated in the daily social-emotional learning program provided by Charity for Change, a nonprofi t dedicated to teaching the foundation of character and charitable habits through an academic curriculum. The charity’s ultimate goal is to create “a

dedicated to teaching the foundation of character and charitable habits through an academic curriculum. The charity’s ultimate goal is to create “a world free of hate, violence, bullying, and cruelty” by providing children with the tools needed to succeed in school and beyond. • Since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, the 250-volunteer Christ Child Society of Naples has been serving more underprivileged children and expanding its services. Founded in 1997, Christ

Child Society of Naples is one of 46 chapters nationwide. Locally, it focuses on four primary objectives: infant care, basic needs, literacy, and scholarships. The organization provides layettes to fi rst-time mothers in need through social services agencies in Naples and Immokalee and donates beds and bedding for each child in new Habitat for Humanity of Collier County homes. In 2017, it began awarding Christ Child Habitat Scholarships for children in Habitat homes.

More Villagers

Beverly’s Angels

(beverlysangels.org)

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

(bbbs.org)

Boys & Girls Club of Collier County

(bgccc.org)

David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health

(davidlawrencecenters.org)

Friends of Foster Children Forever

(friendsoff osterchildren.net)

Guardian ad Litem Foundation, Twentieth Judicial Circuit

(voicesforkids.org)

Legal Aid Service of Collier County

(collierlegalaid.org)

Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, Inc.

(wish.org)

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

(namicollier.org)

Path2Freedom

(path2freedom.org)

STARability Foundation

(starability.org)

Valerie’s House

(valerieshouse.org)