What We Do
A Comprehensive Approach to Family Stability
With four decades of experience, Adopt-A-Family knows that housing combined with supportive services creates lasting change. We offer a range of housing options and services, from family shelter units to residential programs for low-income working families aiming to become homeowners. One major program focuses entirely on preventing families from eviction by providing short-term rent assistance, a far less expensive and less disruptive outcome than entering the homeless system.
Adopt-A-Family is committed to ensuring that client families have safe homes they can afford, but this is just the first step in walking beside marginalized, low-income households. In-house supportive services include case management, mental health therapy, job coaching, and education/training grants.
And because two-thirds of our clients are children, Adopt-A-Family is continually developing new ways to focus on their unique academic, emotional, and social needs. We are committed to offering robust educational support services, so that the children we serve have every opportunity to establish a firm academic foundation.
Family Homelessness Services
In Palm Beach County, family homelessness is real, devastating, and often invisible. Every night, somewhere in our community there are parents and children sleeping in their cars, in parks, or in other areas unfit for human habitation. Others are doubled- or tripled up with other households. With nowhere else to turn, they need our help.
Adopt-A-Family manages the Family Division of the Senator Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center, the central point of access for all homeless services in Palm Beach County. Here, more than two dozen experienced, compassionate social services professionals provide a range of services from diversion to shelter and rapid re-housing, depending upon each household’s circumstances. This team is truly on the front lines, receiving hundreds of calls for help every year.
Senator Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center
Assessment and interventions including diversion, emergency shelter, and rapid re-housing for families experiencing homelessness.
Program REACH
A 19-unit shelter for families experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Housing Stability
To better serve its clients, Adopt-A-Family began acquiring residential properties in 1996. Today, the agency owns and operates 112 supportive housing units on (or near) its Lake Worth campus. Having safe, stable, truly affordable housing makes everything else possible for our client families – steady employment, economic growth, better parenting, education, and good physical and mental health.
These homes also meet the deep need for affordable rental housing in Palm Beach County, where there are few – if any – good options for parents earning service-sector wages. Rents for Adopt-A-Family homes range from a nominal amount for a family just entering Project SAFE to a maximum of $850 for a three-bedroom apartment, about one-third of the fair market rate. Affordability and supportive services allow families to build strong foundations for success once they leave our housing, with stays averaging about four years.
In addition, Adopt-A-Family operates a robust eviction prevention effort, which serves as a safety net for lower-income Palm Beach County families who are days away from eviction. The Housing Stabilization Program provides short-term rent assistance for families who have fallen behind because of a major illness, unexpected job loss, auto repair bill, or other financial crisis outside their control.
Supportive Housing:
Project SAFE
Permanent supportive housing for families emerging from an episode of homelessness with a head of household living with a disability.
Wiley Reynolds Gardens Apartments
Nine townhomes for very low-income families who experienced homelessness.
Julian Place
Serving housing-instable families whose children attend nearby Highland Elementary School
Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2
Scattered-site affordable housing for families earning less than half of Area Median Income
Service Enriched Housing
Helping working families repair credit, build wealth, and become mortgage-ready
Eviction Prevention:
Housing Stabilization Program
Emergency rental assistance for families experiencing a crisis
Youth Education
Housing instability relentlessly disrupts the lives of children on every level. Two-thirds of our clients are minor children, and Adopt-A-Family takes its responsibility to them very seriously.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness reports that such children are “more vulnerable and experience higher rates of mental health problems, developmental delays, poor cognitive outcomes, and depression.” Without an educational/social support network, these children are at risk of being left behind. Adopt-A-Family’s Youth Education efforts bridge this gap by investing time and resources into each child according to their individual needs and circumstances.
Project Grow
Licensed afterschool/summer program for children who have grown up with housing instability
Youth Success Program
Guiding resident middle- and high school students to establish and reach for their goals
Gen2 Education Partnership
Comprehensive educational advocacy for resident children from preschool through 12th grade
Wraparound Services
The provision of wraparound supportive services is of such importance that it is part of Adopt-A-Family’s mission statement. Four decades of social services delivery has informed this approach, which demonstrates consistently excellent measurable outcomes.
Case managers regularly make referrals to our valued network of community partners for assistance ranging from childcare vouchers to food stability and legal services. However, Adopt-A-Family has learned that some services are most effectively provided in-house by team members our clients have come to know and trust.
Case Management
Compassionate, experienced social services professionals utilize a strengths-based approach
Mental Health Program
Free, low-barrier therapeutic services for client families and their children
Job Coach Program
Guiding clients as they develop the skills to become job ready or pursue career growth
Next Step Grant
Donor-funded grants for clients who have identified education/training opportunities
Our Impact
Since our inception in 1983, Adopt-A-Family has grown into one of the largest service providers for homeless families in Palm Beach County. Through the years, our services have expanded to reach families at every walk of life throughout the county.
Today, we continue to address the issues we set out to improve years ago: to strengthen families with children in their efforts to achieve stability and self-sufficiency by providing access to all-encompassing services.
2024 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)
1,216
Palm Beach County Households served (1,604 adults and 2,509 children)
95
Percentage of residential households that maintained stable housing for the entire year
766
Episodes of homelessness ended or prevented
88
Percentage of households served that voluntarily engaged with at least one support service
68
Average number of days it took families to secure a stable housing solution after entering emergency shelter
18
Consecutive years that the agency has maintained a 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator
Our Partners
Our philanthropic and agency partners play a vital role in Adopt-A-Family’s mission. Together we accomplish exponentially more than any one of us could achieve alone. We are immeasurably grateful for their support, encouragement, generosity, and dedication to the families we serve.
- BallenIsles Charities Foundation
- BankUnited
- Bank of America Foundation
- The Batchelor Foundation
- Boca Rio Foundation
- Cathleen McFarlane Foundation
- Children’s Healthcare Charity – The Cognizant Classic
- Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
- Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
- Day 1 Families Fund
- Early Learning Coalition
- Ferguson Cares
- Fledgling Fund
- First Horizon Foundation
- Frenchman’s Reserve Charitable Foundation
- The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation
- Gerstner Family Foundation
- Glenn W. Bailey Foundation
- Great Charity Challenge
- Hearst Foundation
- Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County
- Ibis Charities Foundation
- International Materials Foundation
- J.M Rubin Foundation
- The Jim Moran Foundation
- Kingdom Charitable Trust
- Lattner Family Foundation
- Lost Tree Foundation
- The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation
- Mary Durstine McArtor Reynolds Memorial Giving Fund
- Mirasol Foundation
- Palm Beach Community Trust Fund
- Palm Beach County
- Palm Beach Flagler Rotary Foundation
- Palm Beach Post – Season to Share
- PNC Foundation
- Publix Super Markets Charities
- Quantum Foundation
- RBC Foundation – USA
- Royal Poinciana Chapel
- Siemer Institute
- Smith Brothers Foundation
- TJX Foundation
- Town of Palm Beach United Way
- United Way of Palm Beach County
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- The Walter and Adi Blum Foundation
- Whole Foods Community Giving Program
- Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, Inc.
- Boca Helping Hands
- Boys Town
- BRIDGES at Highland
- CareerSource Palm Beach County
- Catholic Charities
- Clinics Can Help
- Clipped Wings
- Community Land Trust of Palm Beach County
- Community Partners of South Florida
- Compass
- CROS Ministries
- Dress for Success Palm Beaches
- Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County
- Families First of Palm Beach County
- Feeding South Florida
- Florida Vocational Rehabilitation
- Genesis Community Health
- Gulfstream Goodwill
- Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County
- Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County
- HomeSafe
- Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County
- In Jacob’s Shoes
- Lake Worth Little Free Libraries
- Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County
- Literacy AmeriCorps
- Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County
- Little Smiles of Florida
- Multilingual Psychotherapy Centers
- Palm Beach State College
- Pathways to Prosperity
- Prime Time Palm Beach County
- Restoration Bridge
- Sweet Dream Makers
- The Salvation Army
- The Lord’s Place
- Town of Palm Beach United Way
- United Way of Palm Beach County
- Urban League of Palm Beach County
- We Believe Ministries