ABOUT US
Casa Valentina’s goal is to provide at-risk and former foster care youth with safe affordable housing, life skills, and continued support so that they achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
We engage in advocacy within the child welfare system to ensure that our residents, and all transitioning youth, have access to the resources and services they need to achieve autonomy.
We conduct community outreach and offer education and training on critical foster care & homelessness issues to create greater awareness and support for youth.
Our program model combines safe and affordable housing with intensive case management and a comprehensive life skills curriculum in a supportive environment where residents can focus on achieving their education, employment and financial goals and gaining the strength and self-esteem they need to reach their full potential.
Well before we welcomed our first residents in 2006, a large network of people was working hard to make Casa Valentina a reality. We are so lucky to enjoy: visionary leadership from our committed Board of Directors; a talented and hard-working staff; significant support from our partners throughout the Miami community; and a reliable and helpful group of volunteers.
At Casa Valentina, we’re working to close the GAP
Mission
To provide at-risk and former foster care youth with safe affordable housing, life skills, and continued support so that they achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
Vision
Our vision is a community in which all foster children receive the care and support they need to reach their full potential.
History
Casa Valentina was established in 2006 by a group of concerned women who wanted to find a way to address the immense challenges faced by young women who were “at-risk” or “age out” of foster care at 18 years old without being adopted or reunited with their families.
Lacking the life experience, financial stability and support they need to survive on their own, these youth face high risks of violence, prostitution, substance abuse, incarceration, pregnancy, domestic violence and homelessness.
Our five Founding Board members conducted numerous fund- and awareness-raising events to shine a light on these young women’s stories. The capstone was a November 2005 performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, which raised the seed money necessary to start our innovative and unique program.
