CEDARS Carriage House
Every month, CEDARS receives dozens of referrals for young people needing a safe place to spend the night, and each one deserves the stability of a home. According to a survey conducted in the spring of 2022, there were more than 350 youth experiencing homelessness in our community. Of those, 85 were pregnant and/or parenting their own young children.
CEDARS Carriage House will be a program for these pregnant and parenting teens that have found themselves facing homelessness and could benefit from intensive, wrap-around support to successfully transition into community living.
We are incredibly fortunate to have received support from all corners of our community, including local government, businesses and individual donors, but funds are still being raised to support the project. You can help vulnerable kids and young families by making your gift here:
Rendering by arCuretecture, Lincoln NE
The new 6,800 square foot structure on our 6-acre Lincoln campus at 6601 Pioneers Boulevard is an expansion of CEDARS current emergency services for youth with no other safe place to live.
“A 90-120 day expected stay at Carriage House will allow CEDARS to serve up to 24 youth each year. Features of the new building include four 1-bedroom and two 2-bedroom apartments, as well as common space for youth and office space for staff to provide ongoing supervision and support. What we are trying to do is to prepare these kids over a short period of time to successfully move into the community,”
-Jim Blue, President and CEO
The program will include lessons on prenatal care, parenting, nutrition, budgeting, household maintenance, continued education and access to health care and other resources. Each apartment will include a full kitchen, a washing machine and a dryer for youth to practice self-sufficiency. Mental health services will also be in place, all designed to prepare youth for successful community living.
