Julian Place is an innovative housing model designed to improve children’s educational outcomes through the provision of stable housing and extensive support services for all household members. The program’s 14 townhomes are designated for families whose children attend nearby Highland Elementary, a Title I school with one of Palm Beach County’s highest populations of homeless students.Â
Julian Place opened its doors in 2020 after five years of research, planning, construction, and fundraising. Adopt-A-Family launched a capital campaign in 2017 to raise $6.6M for the project’s construction as well as at least five years of program operating expenses. Thanks to an outpouring of generosity from Adopt-A-Family’s community of supporters, the agency met its fundraising goal in 2022, positioning the program for long-term stability.
Adults are provided with access to case management, budget counseling, job coaching services, and mental health services. Elementary school students can attend Project Grow the agency’s afterschool program designed to help formerly homeless students overcome academic deficits and thrive in the classroom. The middle- and high school students have access to our Youth Success Program, which offers weekly activities, tutoring, and academic coaching at the Jayne and Tim Donahue Community Center, located at the center of the Julian Place community.
Adopt-A-Family hired Geo Education & Research out of Tacoma, Washington to evaluate Julian Place’s data for five years. Through a data sharing agreement with the School District of Palm Beach County, Geo is able to compare the academic outcomes of Julian Place students to their peers at Highland Elementary. The findings are published in the Annual Reports below: