(SAVANNAH, GA) Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter, a temporary shelter and outreach service that serves youth from Savannah and the surrounding area, has received a $10,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
“We are extremely grateful for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s generous grant,” said Linda Hilts, Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter’s executive director, noting that the shelter will use the grant to cover operational costs. “The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has generously supported Park Place Outreach for many years. The funds they have provided have gone a long way in ensuring that we can continue to provide services to at-risk youth, especially those who are homeless.”
Homelessness, particularly among youth, is a devastating problem across the nation and especially in the Savannah area. According to recent information released by the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness, Inc., Georgia now ranks 41 out of 50 states on the issue of child homelessness, with 1 being the best and 50 being the worst. Locally, the latest homeless count of the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless indicates that the Savannah area has the second largest homeless population in Georgia, second only to Atlanta. Homeless youth are more likely to have experienced abuse and neglect, parental drug or alcohol abuse, domestic and community violence and trauma associated with poverty, the loss of home, safety and sense of security.
Since opening its doors in 1984, Park Place Outreach has accommodated more than 6,000 youth, among them many homeless children and teens.
“Our grant to Park Place is part of the ongoing investments the Bank of America Charitable Foundation is making to address immediate critical needs, such as hunger and shelter, and longer term solutions that promote access to benefits and resources,” said Melissa Bouchillon, resident director, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. “We know that through our partnership with Park Place Outreach that we can create positive change for youth in our area.”
About Park Place Outreach, Inc.
Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter, located at 514 E. Henry St., provides support for troubled children and teens in Savannah and the surrounding area. The shelter is open 24 hours a day to youth in crisis, adolescents who are homeless, young people who have been abused and runaway youth. The shelter is also a valuable resource for youth who may be contemplating ways to run away. Opened in 1984 as Marshlands Foundation, Inc. (dba the Savannah Runaway Home), Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter provides counseling and other services to boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 17. The organization’s goal is to keep kids off the street and reunify families whenever possible.
Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This program is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, USDA Breakfast/Lunch Program, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Department of Human Services, City of Savannah, United Way, FEMA and other community resources. For more information, please call 912-234-4048, visit http://parkplaceyes.org or search for “Park Place Outreach” on Facebook. An informational video about Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter is available at YouTube by searching for “Park Place Outreach – Youth Emergency Shelter.”