Hart Community Homes, Inc.
PROGRAMS
Workforce Development Program
To address the need for supportive employment for young adults as they transition out of foster care, in 2005, HCH opened Monkey Business Cafe in downtown Fullerton. This creative café and catering enterprise offers paid employment and support so this vulnerable population can achieve greater stability while strengthening the life skills and vocational skills they need for the future. Youth are trained, mentored and paid to assist with the full spectrum of restaurant and catering operations. They gain marketable skills in the restaurant industry and actively help operate the social enterprise which includes catering and marketing. Our program enjoys a fruitful collaboration with the Fullerton Arboretum located at Cal State Fullerton. Here, our participants gain a full ‘harvest-to-table’ experience by augmenting their restaurant employment with actual farm and growing experience. The Arboretum has designated an acre of land for the use of Monkey Business Café. The youth are supervised by a Monkey Business job coach and continue to earn wages. Participants also assist the Arboretum with its own working farm that grows fruits, vegetables and nuts. These fresh products are incorporated into the menu Monkey Business Cafe. Our innovative service model led to Monkey Business receiving the 2014 Social Enterprise Award sponsored by the Orange County Social Enterprise Venture Competition. In 2016, Monkey Business Cafe garnered a 4-year award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This grant supported the farm-to-table collaboration between Monkey Business Cafe, Fullerton Arboretum and U-ACRE, a program of CSU Fullerton.
Our program gives young people -- who have experienced severe disappointment, physical and emotional pain and dejection in life as victims of child abuse and neglect – a renewed sense of purpose and hope. Almost immediately as new trainees, we witness a transformation in their self-confidence. They greatly appreciate the opportunity to earn a paycheck and are very self-motivated. Working at the café builds their independence and control over their lives. It sparks new ideas and motivates them to pursue employment and college pathways. We help them find housing and ensure they utilize community resources available to them. Many have anxiety or other emotional challenges. We help them access mental health and medical services for which they are eligible. A number of former program participants have been hired as permanent staff in our program. They are now in their late twenties and are very effective as mentors to younger youth. They also appreciate the opportunity to be entrusted as leaders and each is firmly committed to completing college and pursuing a career in human services or in our organization.
Transitional Housing
Hart Community Homes is addressing California's chronic shortage of stable housing for emancipated foster youth, a population that is greatly at risk of homelessness. We have acquired an apartment unit next door to Monkey Business Cafe which now serves as transitional housing for former foster youth, ages 18-21. The property is a two-story, 1930s apartment complex with five, 2-BR/1-BA units, eight garages and a parking lot. Each unit provides housing for two individuals. At full capacity, the property provide stable housing for 10 individuals at any one time. We have made property improvements so that our first residents were able to move into their very own apartment in Spring 2021. HCH provides a program of supportive housing that includes mental health services, health access, case management, and on-site program/property management. As well, the youth who will live here are able to gain paid job training and employment at Monkey Business Cafe, which is literally right next door on Lemon St. The apartments are also located within walking distance from Fullerton College, Fullerton Library, downtown Fullerton, Fullerton train station and multiple community services. "We are so excited to be able to offer our young adults a good and supportive place to live when they turn 18," said Cari Hart-Bunevith, Executive Director. "We have been eyeing this apartment building for many years and have always hoped to do this. It is now a reality!"
To provide stable, supportive housing for young adults who have emancipated from foster care/guardianship.
To provide pathways for supportive, paid employment such as at Monkey Business Cafe.
To provide wraparound supports including access to mental health services as needed by the individual.
To provide a pathway to college and university admission.
To ensure stable community housing upon exit from the transitional housing program.
CONTACT
Hart Community Homes, Inc.
208 N. Lemon
Fullerton, CA 92832
Carissa Hart-Bunevith
carissa.hart@hartcommunityhomes.org
Phone: 714-526-2729