About 91 Place
91 Place is a transitional home for homeless youth ages 18-22. Global Illuminations purchased the house in the Brookside community and renovated a six bedroom house with three full baths to accommodate 4 youths and 2 house parents as well as a large kitchen, a long dining room table, and plenty of room for relaxing, intentionality, and growth.
Strategically placed in an area of Indianapolis that’s well known for its high drug, murder, and prostitution rates, we want to be part of the community and foster a culture of belonging, not take youth out of their enviornment to separate them. We have a passion to see young adults set up with opportunities to succeed and to help them create sustainability in basic life skills that many people take for granted. We also want to create a culture of healthy relationships and identity formation within the home to create life transformation and allow youth to thrive.
91 Place became its own 501c3 in mid-2020 with Jenna Shaffer as founder and executive director. GI is excited to see our second venture graduate to this stage. She believes her program is unlike any other transitional housing program in Indianapolis for homeless youth because it is based solely on relationship and sustainable life transformation. Each client will have their own tailored set of goals and metrics to measure progress; each of these clients will have a different story and a different personality, and need to be treated as individuals to truly achieve long-term success.
Success!
Though 91 Place has only been habitable since November 2019, 4 of the 6 youth who have lived there have graduated high school and all are planning to go to college. One of these graduates moved out because she moved into a college dorm. Though she has left the house, she has not left the 91 Family and continues to engage in the relationships built in the 9 months she lived there.
91 Place will use relationships, stable housing, and community to guide homeless and disadvantaged youth toward success. The vision is to have a year-long curriculum the youth will follow which will teach life skills, identity, and create a safe place for them to heal from years of trauma. They will be loved right where they are.
The program will differentiate from others through intentionality in community. Youth and house parents will have dinner together and take turns cooking for one another, and will also learn important skills through experiential learning. We believe the best way for youth to learn is doing it in the real world alongside healthy adults. For example, youth will help with grocery shopping, budgeting, time management, encouraging one another, problem solving within the house and conflict resolution. They will learn how to love one another by watching the adults and peers in their lives love one another well. Between the life skills curriculum, mentorship program, self-esteem boosting, accomplishing practical goals, discovering passions, and healthy relationships, youth will exit our program completely transformed and will be able to live independent lives. Jenna is excited to implement these proven methods here in her transitional housing program.