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Crossroads hope academy is growing!

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The Board of Directors for Crossroads Hope Academy is pleased to announce the purchase of the former Compass Center at 2208 Castillo Avenue, Punta Gorda, a 13,000 square foot residential facility on 5 acres, which will allow the organization to double its capacity within the following year. 


Crossroads Hope Academy is currently home to 24 boys between the ages of 12 and 17 who have had multiple failed placements in the Florida foster care system, an average of 14 prior to arriving at Crossroads. Each one of these placements adds to their trauma and affects their ability to develop meaningful relationships. These are kids are in need of guidance, support, and love. We take in these boys and offer them a stable home – for most it is the first stable home they have ever known. Our specially trained staff works to retrieve these kids from despair and help them grow and transition into well-adjusted and self-sufficient adults.
 

As of the end of April, there were more than 21,000 children in foster care in the state of Florida, of which only about 12% are males 12 years and older. Crossroads Hope Academy receives an average of 89 placement referrals every month for our current 24-bed facility located on the Babcock Ranch Preserve. That’s 89 young men who do not fit in to traditional foster care settings, who need specialized care to heal from the traumas they have endured — care that only a place like Crossroads can provide. Of those 89 referrals, we are only able to take in 4-6 new youth every month. The need for our services is great.


“We’ve been searching for a facility to expand into for nearly 5 years,” said Duncan Scarry, President of the Board of Directors. “Through the hard work of the Crossroads team and the generosity of the community, we’ve finally been able to achieve this goal. Now Crossroads will be able to help more and more boys who are in desperate need. I can’t thank our team and community enough.”


With the addition of the Castillo Avenue property, Crossroads Hope Academy will eventually be able to serve an additional 24 boys. But first, the new facility requires extensive work, renovation, and furnishings to transform it from its prior function as a residential substance abuse treatment center to the warm, inviting, and loving home our boys not only need, but deserve. 
Crossroads Hope Academy would not be what it is today were it not for the financial and volunteer support of our incredible community. It takes a village to raise a child, and you are our village. We are now asking our village to help us create a healthy and nurturing environment for our boys at our Castillo Avenue campus by supporting our HOPE Grows Campaign. 


For additional information on our Castillo Campus and what it means for the future of Crossroads Hope Academy, please contact John Davidson at (941) 628-2741 or john@crossroadspg.org.

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