Drop-In Center

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Drop-In Center

Drop-In Center for Homeless and Exploited Youth

OPEN: Tuesday - Friday: 1:00pm to 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am to 7:00pm

Youth homelessness in Milwaukee is an invisible, yet dramatic social problem in our city. Milwaukee’s HUD Continuum of Care reports that each night over 400 youth are homeless in Milwaukee. Some find shelter with friends and extended family. Half don’t find the shelter they seek and only 16 emergency beds exist in our community. These youth are very vulnerable. Fundamentally meeting their basic needs is at risk. Two-thirds will trade sex for food or shelter within three days of living on the streets. The long term consequences in terms of educational achievement, substance abuse, violence, and mental health are staggering.

The Drop-In Center serves as home base for Street Beat, a joint project of Milwaukee’s two homeless youth programs and the only street outreach program in Milwaukee for homeless youth. The Drop-In Center provides day services to the many homeless youth encountered by shelter and outreach staff, including food, hygiene and laundry facilities, health and risk reduction resources, computer access, job support, and case management.

Community partnership is essential to a successful strategy to address youth homelessness. Your support would supplement the existing commitment from Assurant and encourage other individuals and funders to address the basic needs of homeless youth in our community.

Three major outcomes guide the Drop-In Center and Street Beat outreach effort:

To prevent the risk of sexual exploitation of street and homeless youth by providing targeted street based outreach
To help such youth find safe and stable permanent housing through intensive case management and housing placement
To assist such youth to develop appropriate independent living skills

Street Beat Outreach Program

Operates collaboratively between Pathfinders and Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center.
Targets homeless, transient, and street youth ages 11 through 25 at-risk for sexual abuse or exploitation who are not well served by traditional youth serving agencies. Data indicates that within 72 hours of hitting the streets, 1 out of every 3 runaways will be forced to engage in survival sex in order to meet their basic needs for food and shelter (National Runaway Switchboard).
Embraces an innovative and effective nontraditional street-based approach, with its highly skilled and street-smart two-member outreach team going to communities and locations throughout Milwaukee where at-risk youth gather.
Annually connects with over 4,000 youth at-risk for sexual abuse or exploitation, and provides 100 of these youth with intensive services that help them get off the streets and reduce their risk of being sexually abused.
Provides youth with bus tickets, food, transportation assistance, risk reduction education and supplies, clothing, and access to health care services.
Initiates street-based case management, advocacy, and access to shelter care, housing services, employment, and educational support.