Kent Campus faculty member rescues homeless teens
Benjamin Jackson
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Features
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"Elise is the greatest boss," said Aaron Davis, a student ambassador at Kent Campus. "She is really incredibly flexible and tries to make things work for everyone. She is really unselfish."
Elise graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Family, Youth, and Community Services, with a concentration in Humanities.
A year after graduating, Elise went to work at Daniel Memorial, Florida's oldest child services agency, as a case manager for Project Prepare.
Elise said, "I managed a case load; I hate that word, seems so sterile, makes the clients seem like numbers and not people, of teenagers who were homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless."
"I made sure they had safe housing and if they did not, I worked to establish it. My program, Project Prepare, offered some on-site efficiency style apartments which some youth were eligible to stay in short term," said Elise.
Originally founded as an orphanage, The Daniel Memorial Center has developed into an agency that helps children and teenagers through both mental and social service programs.
"The whole Daniel program was helpful, but I mostly tried to work with Elise," said Chris Duryea, a former at-risk teen that Elise worked with.
"I came from a bad home situation," said Chris, "when I met Elise I was homeless and living in my car. She helped me get into the program."
After housing had been established for a teen, Elise would make sure he or she attended school or began to work towards receiving a GED. If the teen had already completed high school, she would help them get into higher education, such as FSCJ or vocational school.
Elise also taught life skills and assisted with job placement. "Basically, I helped them move from a state of homelessness to a state of self-sufficiency," said Elise.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 4
Courtney
posted 2/02/10 @ 2:46 PM EST
Great story. I work with Mrs. Elise too and she is a phenomenal boss!
Scarlett
posted 2/02/10 @ 2:49 PM EST
Mrs. Elise is so incredible, and I am just so excited that she was in the Spotlight. I look up to her in so many ways. She is such a role model. So, thank you for doing this on her! She is so spectacular, and totally deserves it!!!
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