Catholic Charities partners with nationally recognized program to help youth

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, has partnered with the Department of Children and Families and First Place For Youth to implement the My First Place Program, which is a nationally recognized model whose mission is to help eligible young adults build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood.

This is done by not only providing youth who enter the program with housing, but also providing intensive case management services focused on education, employment, and healthy living.

The grant from DCF, which is a state agency, has been awarded to CCDOM to serve a total of 30 youth who are ages 18-24 in Middlesex and Somerset Counties. Pregnant and parenting youth are also eligible for this program. Lisa Novalany, program director of the My First Place Program says, “This is a new initiative in the state of New Jersey; we are beyond excited to be a part of it!”   

The My First Place program is a DCF-funded program. The program can help eligible young adults with housing using a national model developed by First Place For Youth in which CCDOM is master leasing apartments in Somerset and Middlesex Counties. CCDOM will cover rent and utilities of the apartments and young adults or participants in program can reside in the apartment for the duration of the program as they actively work towards their goals and engage in program services.

The well-attended launch of the program took place in October at the Catholic Charities main office in Perth Amboy. Individuals who were interested in the program have a history of children welfare involvement including at least one out of home placement through the Department of Child Protection and Permanency.

Once the program introduction was finished, individuals met for readiness assessments with Catholic Charities staff members to prepare them for enrollment in the program.

In preparation to house the first youth in the program, the My First Place Team set up the apartment to include living room, kitchen and bedroom furniture; household items (pots, pans, dishes, towels, bedding, a vacuum, etc.), and stocked the apartment with pantry items.

On Oct. 23, they housed the first youth, a 19-year-old male who had experienced homelessness and housing instability. Move-in day was eventful with an introduction into the new space, lunch, food shopping and shopping for more personal items. They will continue to move youth into the program and support them in achieving their goals while in the My First Place Program.

The My First Place program differs from other housing programs that CCDOM has because they will cover the rent and utilities of the apartments.  CCDOM has other housing programs and other youth programs, but this program combines the essential components of both.

In addition, the unique rent savings component sets this program apart. From program entry, youth advocates work with young adults to explore their budget and develop a plan to contribute to a rent savings account. Typically, this is 30% of a young adult’s monthly income.

Each month, the youth advocate works on budgeting and engages in discussions around rent savings. The rent savings concept mimics normal rental practices. Rent savings payments are held in an interest-bearing account, and once a young adult graduates from the program their rent savings contributions are returned to them.

Once enrolled in the My First Place Program, in addition to housing, young adults receive intensive case management services from a team that includes a youth advocate, an education/employment specialist, and a housing specialist.

Identified goals during the program are youth-driven and focus on education, employment, and healthy living skills. Individualized action plans are created by the young adults in partnership with their My First Place team to assist them in reaching their goals while in the program.

One of the terms that was mentioned on launch day was “level up.” Lisa Novalany explained, “It came from our implementation phase/training.” She went on to say, “It clearly caught our attention because the whole My First Place started using it as a way to fondly encourage and motivate each other during program ramp up and launch.

“We have been so busy preparing for youth to enter the program but have found ways to keep challenging each other to take it up a notch, or ‘level up.’ We now use the term when thinking about challenging and motivating our youth to ‘level up’ and go beyond what they think their potential is, in order to achieve a higher level of success and stability.”

“I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to serve young adults through this program,” Novalany said. “My hopes for this program is that it transforms the lives of New Jersey’s transition-age youth, providing them with opportunity and hope. I am looking forward to seeing this program’s ultimate success and how far of an impact it will make.”