Sanctuary of Hope: Offering Support and Bolstering Resilience
Since its inception in 2010, more than 7,000 youth and families in Los Angeles County have benefitted from Sanctuary of Hope’s (SOH’s) prevention and stabilization services and activism and advocacy activities.
SOH serves people ages 16 to 25 who are child welfare or juvenile justice impacted, housing and economic insecure, trafficking and domestic survivors, LGBTQIA+, expectant and parenting youth gang impacted and at-promise.
“We provide youth with guidance, support and tools to get them back on their feet,” says Janet Kelly, founder and executive director of SOH. “For example, we work closely with families to resolve conflict, digging into the issues and addressing the root causes of why a young person left home. Our goal is to improve the lines of communication, which ultimately reduces tensions and fosters stronger relationships.”
Their dynamic and multicultural approach to services – which include life coaching, counseling, mentoring, character and leadership development, housing, education and employment support, family strengthening and reunification, crisis services and financial assistance – helps young people become self-sufficient and lead prosperous lives.
“We know that when you provide youth with support and opportunities to tap into their own potential, they thrive,” says Ms. Kelly. “Our Youth Action Board discusses policies that are important to them and takes action to drive change. They’ve helped improve the rights of youth in foster care, made education and humanitarian contributions during a recent trip to Cuba and continually engage their peers in issues.”
As a longtime National Runaway Prevention Month (NRPM) partner, Sanctuary of Hope recognizes the importance of raising awareness of youth homelessness and educating the public about how they can play a role in preventing and ending this crisis. SOH has used social media successfully to maximize their reach during NRPM, engage their audience and reach their campaign goals. In fact, in 2022, SOH was a contender for the NRPM Social Media Master Award.
For NRPM 2023, the SOH team will host a series of events, including a campaign kick-off, Light the Night interfaith community event, an Instagram Live with a McKinney-Vento liaison from the Los Angeles County Department of Education and an online closing event featuring SOH’s Youth Action Board members. They also share information on social media throughout November.
We are thrilled to have SOH as part of the NRPM 2023 community and look forward to seeing all that they do in November and beyond. For more information about SOH, visit thesoh.org/.
