| Harbor House shelter opens by John ColemanUMConnection Staff  Within view of East Baltimores new juvenile detention center a few blocks away, an alternative facility will soon emerge that may offer a more compassionate, more effective answer to the daunting problem of youth crime.
Centennial-Caroline UMC hosted community leaders, funding partners and city and state officials at a ceremony Oct. 7 to begin renovating the churchs abandoned parsonage next door into Aunt CCs Harbor House, a transitional shelter. The new group home, at 1031 East Monument St., will offer a safe haven and developmental services for Baltimore male youth, ages 11 to 17, who are facing crises and the risk of criminal behavior. The first 24-hour a day shelter of its kind in the city, it will also promote positive interaction between the young men and neighborhood organizations, churches and the police.  We want to do what we can to keep them out of the juvenile justice system, said the Rev. Iris Farabee-Lewis, pastor of Centennial-Caroline. Keeping them close to home and involved in the community may be a crucial step to turning their lives around in positive directions.
The shelter is scheduled to open next year. Youth referred there by the city departments of Juvenile Services and Social Services will stay for an average of 30 days and up to 90 days in a stable, home-like but supervised environment. All but $50,000 of the $396,000 cost of the project has been raised, Farabee-Lewis said. The churchs public and private funding partners include the North American Family Institute; the Abell Foundation; the Governors Office of Children, Youth and Families; and the Family League of Baltimore City. Other supporters include Clergy United for the Renewal of East Baltimore, a neighborhood residents organization and local and state police. At the groundbreaking ceremony Police Commissioner Kenneth Clark called the home a lighthouse in the community. This took a lot of will and money but it is the answer to many questions, he said, calling for a Harbor House in each of the departments eight districts. | 
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