The Delray Beach-based nonprofit started about 10 years ago when the pastor of The Avenue Church, Casey Cleveland, and Lisa Wanamaker, executive director, realized that the mothers of children going into foster care were left on their own to navigate complex government and community resources. So, they decided to serve the family as a unit, instead of the individuals separately.
“We provide long-term housing so families can stay with us between two to three years, and we also provide wrap-around support services to the families while they’re in the program,” Wanamaker said. “Our program staff provides a full scope of services from daily mentoring to educational opportunities to mental health support, and skill-building programs.”
The Community Foundation awarded CityHouse a $48,000 Community Impact Grant in fiscal year 2024 for its Home and Hope Program, which covers the cost of housing and family advocates that provide the wrap-around services that the families need. The program is at the heart of the nonprofit’s mission, and the grant supports the foundational aspects of it, which are housing and healing for additional families.
The Community Foundation’s grant is directly impacting over 50 mothers and children in South Palm Beach County. Of the 17 families currently at CityHouse, 90 percent are expected to complete the program in two years.
“Being able to provide housing for individuals who were previously homeless is a pretty heavy lift, especially in our current real estate market,” Wanamaker said. “We know that it takes the entire community stepping in and helping to make this mission possible. So, to the Community Foundation donors who make the CityHouse programs possible, just a huge thank you.”
