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News & Events > Connecticut: Creating Housing Responsive to Teenage Girls

Bridgeport, CT, May 4th, 2007 - What does it take to help an adolescent learn to live independently? It is certainly a question nagging many parents these days. Yet consider for a moment the reality of young people transitioning out of foster care or group homes.

A pilot program launched in Connecticut is looking specifically at that reality and a recent loan by the Leviticus Fund is helping one non-profit offer a nurturing response.

The Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Program, Inc. (GBAPP) is a social service agency founded in 1980 to address the high rate of adolescent pregnancy in the greater Bridgeport area. The organization focuses on youth who lack access to social support systems, specifically serving adolescents who are homeless, runaways, substance abusers or pregnant. In 1992 GBAPP expanded its mission to include prevention and early intervention of HIV/AIDS among youth, women and children. It also runs Mi Casa/My Home, one of only two licensed maternity homes for pregnant teens in Connecticut.

The Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc. recently closed a $275,000 loan with GBAPP to purchase a 3-family home in Bridgeport. Once renovations are complete, the site will be used for supportive housing for eight adolescent females transitioning out of the shelter system. The Bridgeport facility is one of four pilot programs in Connecticut called “Housing for Success”; the other three are based in New Haven, Norwich and Manchester. “Housing for Success” is funded by Connecticut’s Department of Families and Children.

“There are a lot of young girls in the social service system and there are not too many places for them to go,” explained Rudy Feudo, Executive Director for GBAPP. “These are girls that don’t have significant behavioral or health issues. They are about to leave a foster home or a group home and are not able to live independently on their own. In this state – and in other states as well – there are not enough gender-specific programs.”

GBAPP’s outreach covers the greater Bridgeport area, which includes the city of Bridgeport and adjacent towns of Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford and Trumbull. Data indicates that 300 girls in the Bridgeport region are currently eligible for this program.

“Housing for Success” will provide a safe place to live, ongoing supervision and an extensive array of services. Those services include: 24 hour/day, seven days/week apartment-like living, case management, life skills, and referral for medical and behavioral health services and support services, as well as job training, placement and retention. Staff for the project will include a full-time Program Director, two case managers, a full-time educational/vocational specialist, and three youth coaches. A registered nurse will also be regularly available for consultation.

The age range of the adolescents in the program is 16 to 21 and they can remain at the facility for up to 18 months. Of the eight beds at the Bridgeport facility, two will be designated for teen moms with their children.

“In the case of this project we hope to change a life around for these young women and their children, giving them a chance to finish their education, a chance to go to college and get a good paying job,” said Mr. Feudo. “My hope is that with this first house, there will be a second one in the next year or so.”

The Leviticus Fund is a community loan fund serving affordable housing and community facility needs in low-income communities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for over 20 years. The Fund is capitalized at $9.4 million and has provided $18.3 million in cumulative lending since its founding in 1984; generating 1,076 units of affordable housing, including transitional and emergency shelters, 35 child care centers serving 3,000 children, 32 community facilities offering social services, 8 health care facilities, 149 new jobs and 10 new small businesses.

(To learn more about the Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Program, visit www.gbapp.org. To learn more about Leviticus, visit www.leviticusfund.org )


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About Us Who We Help Ways to Invest Ways to Borrow Make a Gift News & Events Advocacy	News & Events > Connecticut: Creating Housing Responsive to Teenage Girls Bridgeport, CT, May 4th, 2007 - What does it take to help an adolescent learn to live independently? It is certainly a question nagging many parents these days. Yet consider for a moment the reality of young people transitioning out of foster care or group homes. A pilot program launched in Connecticut is looking specifically at that reality and a recent loan by the Leviticus Fund is helping one non-profit offer a nurturing response. The Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Program, Inc. (GBAPP) is a social service agency founded in 1980 to address the high rate of adolescent pregnancy in the greater Bridgeport area. The organization focuses on youth who lack access to social support systems, specifically serving adolescents who are homeless, runaways, substance abusers or pregnant. In 1992 GBAPP expanded its mission to include prevention and early intervention of HIV/AIDS among youth, women and children. It also runs Mi Casa/My Home, one of only two licensed maternity homes for pregnant teens in Connecticut. The Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc. recently closed a $275,000 loan with GBAPP to purchase a 3-family home in Bridgeport. Once renovations are complete, the site will be used for supportive housing for eight adolescent females transitioning out of the shelter system. The Bridgeport facility is one of four pilot programs in Connecticut called “Housing for Success”; the other three are based in New Haven, Norwich and Manchester. “Housing for Success” is funded by Connecticut’s Department of Families and Children. “There are a lot of young girls in the social service system and there are not too many places for them to go,” explained Rudy Feudo, Executive Director for GBAPP. “These are girls that don’t have significant behavioral or health issues. They are about to leave a foster home or a group home and are not able to live independently on their own. In this state – and in other states as well – there are not enough gender-specific programs.” GBAPP’s outreach covers the greater Bridgeport area, which includes the city of Bridgeport and adjacent towns of Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford and Trumbull. Data indicates that 300 girls in the Bridgeport region are currently eligible for this program. “Housing for Success” will provide a safe place to live, ongoing supervision and an extensive array of services. Those services include: 24 hour/day, seven days/week apartment-like living, case management, life skills, and referral for medical and behavioral health services and support services, as well as job training, placement and retention. Staff for the project will include a full-time Program Director, two case managers, a full-time educational/vocational specialist, and three youth coaches. A registered nurse will also be regularly available for consultation. The age range of the adolescents in the program is 16 to 21 and they can remain at the facility for up to 18 months. Of the eight beds at the Bridgeport facility, two will be designated for teen moms with their children. “In the case of this project we hope to change a life around for these young women and their children, giving them a chance to finish their education, a chance to go to college and get a good paying job,” said Mr. Feudo. “My hope is that with this first house, there will be a second one in the next year or so.” The Leviticus Fund is a community loan fund serving affordable housing and community facility needs in low-income communities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for over 20 years. The Fund is capitalized at $9.4 million and has provided $18.3 million in cumulative lending since its founding in 1984; generating 1,076 units of affordable housing, including transitional and emergency shelters, 35 child care centers serving 3,000 children, 32 community facilities offering social services, 8 health care facilities, 149 new jobs and 10 new small businesses. (To learn more about the Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Program, visit www.gbapp.org. To learn more about Leviticus, visit www.leviticusfund.org )