Trinity Place Host Homes

Trinity Place Host Homes provides temporary shelter in community-based homes for homeless and runaway youth who are not in the child welfare system. The focus is on getting kids off the street and into a safe, appropriate setting, preferably back in their family home. All services are aligned to work toward our ultimate objective: giving homeless youth the opportunity to exit life on the street for good. The primary goal of Trinity Place Host Homes is to provide a safe haven with concrete and emotional support services for these youth while family reunification is negotiated and other needed services are put in place.

Trinity Place Host Homes was designed to address the gap in resources for runaway or “throwaway” youth and homeless teens, under the age of 18, who are not currently receiving child protection services, including youth who are “couch surfing” at friends’ or relatives’ homes.

Trinity Place Host Homes’ primary mission is to prevent youth from running away and living on the streets. The program provides a 24/7 hotline that enables children and families in crisis to seek help for disputes, resolution of conflicts within the home, and de-escalation of tensions that can cause a child to run away or be “thrown away” by their family. The Child and family must voluntarily make the call, enter the program, and be willing to work toward resolving family conflict and maintaining the child in the family residence.

When a child does leave home, the program focus is on getting kids off the street, and into a safe setting, preferably back in their family home, when appropriate. The youth is provided with a temporary, safe host home in Burlington, Camden, or Mercer Counties with a family who has been screened, licensed, and trained to work with at-risk youth. The adolescents remain with these families until a permanency plan can be put in place. The preferred goal, when possible, is to reunite the youth with his or her family.

By offering safe shelter for runaway and homeless adolescents who are already on the street, the program offers alternatives to involvement with law enforcement, child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems.

Trinity Place Host Homes has a minimum of four beds available for runaway and homeless youth at any given time, with a capacity to shelter up to 20 youth annually for 15 days each.