(The Center Square) — Pittre Walker, a longtime community advocate for youth, stood before the Caddo Commission asking for emergency funding to continue to run the Jewell House Shelter in this week’s work session.
Jewel House opened in 2008, and since has helped young girls and women ages 14-24 in the city have somewhere to go. The youth center is in need of funding to continue to operate. Jewell House Shelter can house up to six girls at any time, and it takes eight employees to run the 24-hour shelter.
“We’ve had a young lady just recently graduated from LSU, went to med school, and she was actually living in a car when she came to us, but she was determined. She was valedictorian of her high school,” said Walker at Monday’s meeting. “She was determined to make a great life for herself.”
Ordinance No. 6526 on new business in the commission looks to amend the budget for the Oil and Gas fund and Riverboat fund to provide $30,000 for youth outreach services doing business as Jewell House.
This ordinance, introduced by Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts, also notes the funds will be used to provide temporary housing for juvenile girls on probation as an alternative to detention.
Many grants and funding usually provided to the shelter have not come in yet, pushing Walker to ask the commission for emergency money to operate for the next 90 days.
According to Walker, they work closely with schools, juvenile courts, hospital counselors and other places in the community to help young women who can’t go back home. Unlike other shelters, the Jewell House does not cap the stays at 30 or 45 days.
The Jewell House has a very high success rate of taking in young women and working with them to go off to college and become taxpaying citizens in the community, claimed Walker.
Walker shared that one girl arrived when she was 14 years old. She remained there until she was 18 and graduated high school. The young girl is now working towards going to college.
In the future, she has plans to open a “Willy’s Home for Boys” to take in younger men within the city as the Jewell House does for young women. Apart from the OJJ or OCS, Walker said there is nowhere for young boys to go in the community who need help.
The council voted to advance the motion with nine in support and one opposed. Commissioner John Atkins was the lone vote against the ordinance.
