Healthy Souls plans to start afterschool program for at-risk youth
Healthy Souls International, a disaster relief nonprofit that helped feed people in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico after intense hurricanes devastated the islands, plans to take on a new cause: an afterschool program for at-risk youth.
The program will be open to up to 20 high school students across Volusia County who might be homeless or on probation. The teens can be referred through school counselors, probation officers or other officials.
The new cause hits close to home for the founder of the nonprofit, who had a car accident that wiped out her finances when her youngest of three children was in his final year of high school.
“I know how hard it was for me being a single mom,” said Maria Davila, founder of Healthy Souls International. “We were homeless for 10 months and two days my son’s senior year and it was very hard for us. I have a heart for the kids that are out there. I know how difficult times can be for them. They all need a source of hope and a feeling of purpose.”
The new after-school program will run from Monday through Friday at the Healthy Souls International warehouse on 2330 S. Nova Road in South Daytona. While there are still some details that need to be ironed out, the nonprofit expects to start the program in the spring.
The students who attend the program will participate in classes that center around disaster relief, engineering and Bible studies, among other topics. Parents who give their children permission to participate in the program will be informed about the Bible studies classes. These classes will take place off school property.
Leaders of the nonprofit also plan to work with local restaurants to provide the students in the program with a hot meal before the teens head back home.
While the program has yet to start, big plans lie ahead for the teens. When the students near their one-year mark in the program, Healthy Souls International hopes to provide those who demonstrated success with a stipend to help cover school-related expenses.
“The goal is to raise enough money so the students who do all their community service hours and manage not to get in any more trouble and keep a C average in school can get a stipend,” Davila said. “When they go back to school in the fall, they can use the money for school shopping, or they can use the money to participate in sports if Mom and Dad don’t have the money for it.”
For more information about the new afterschool program, email Healthy Souls International at [email protected].
