Brownie’s Cottage is a temporary, safe home for children through age 12 who have been removed from their homes due physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Twenty-three beds are available 24-hours a day, without exception for young children in immediate need of protection and a secure place to call home. The children are placed in our care by the State through the Children’s Network of SWFL and are with us an average of 30-45 days. The majority of the children leaving Youth Haven are placed in a foster home or with a relative.

For most of the children at Youth Haven, life here is unlike any experienced before. We have created a structured, yet comfortable, living environment in which most children do not wish to leave. Our 25-acre campus is designed with children in mind, offering many opportunities for outdoor activities, sports and nature appreciation. The children attend public school, participate in age-appropriate extracurricular activities, and enjoy weekend outings and summer trips with their new friends.

To aid the healing process and address the experiences which brought them here, on-site group and individual psychological and psychiatric counseling is provided. An individualized counseling plan is created for all of the children designed to address behavioral issues and the underlying emotional effects of the abuse and neglect they’ve experienced. The addition of our on-site behavioral counseling program makes us one of the only agencies in the State providing this enhanced therapeutic level of treatment to deeply hurting children.