Ivis Gonzalez has turned his life around, thanks to Safe Harbor of Chester County, reports Matteo Iadonisi for 6abc.
“I was a troubled teen, so that left my mom by herself, and I had to learn a lot, you know.,” Gonzalez said.
He was homeless for a while, and it was really hard to get back on his feet. Someone referred him to Safe Harbor and that’s made all the difference.
“Other than a roof over my head for me and mom, they provide meals for us, they’ take care of us. They’ve encouraged me to stay employed. I got a job. I can’t ask for nothing better than, you know, than this,” he said.
The West Chester shelter has been around since the 1990s providing emergency housing, food, and more.
Jessica Chappell, Safe Harbor executive director, said the shelter provides services to about 150 individuals each year who stay anywhere from three to six months.
Residents receive three meals a day along with therapeutic case management, intensive housing management and programming so they can become housed and stay housed, Chappell said.
Safe Harbor relies on donations, volunteers and grants, corporate sponsors and foundations such as the Foxwynd Foundation to keep the help coming.
“It’s far more than just offering temporary shelter. They really do provide a tailored approach and provide resources, particularly the areas of mental health, job training and light skill development,” said Pamela Villagra, executive director for the Foxwynd Foundation.
The length of stay for residents has grown longer in the last couple of years, “but the success rate of them not having to come back and need additional services in the future is really where we’re seeing those successes,” said Patrick Ryan, Safe Harbor’s board chairman.
See the entire 6abc news story.
