On Meet Houston Missions and The Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast, your host, Paul Cannon, talks with Andrea McClairne, the founder of JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16. JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 was started in 2023 when Andera McClairne felt a calling from God to support, teach, and empower young women leaving the foster care system. The mission is based in the greater Houston area and provides assistance programs and support to young women leaving the foster care system and entering the world on their own. JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 aims to provide a safe place for young women to stay and learn valuable life skills so that they can learn how to successfully live independently without turning to darker professions. JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 offers mentorship, education, and life skills courses, counselors, and therapists to young women leaving foster care. Additionally, although they do not yet have a home, JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 hopes to build a home in the future where girls leaving foster care can turn to for guidance and support.
JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 Services
For young women leaving foster care, it may be difficult to know where to go from there in their lives. Many women leaving foster care struggle with mental health issues and are not prepared to live on their own yet. When young women leaving foster care need guidance and support, JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 is there to set them on the right path. The organization provides many services that put young women on a path to success in their newly independent lives. One of the services JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 offers is access to therapists and counselors. The organization knows that being a part of and leaving the foster care system can severely impact one’s mental health. JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 provides therapists and counselors to young women leaving foster care because they know that living independently can be difficult, and they want to provide the girls with a safe space to take care of their mental health so that they don’t have to face them alone.
Another service that JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 offers is life skills teachings and mentorship. Many of the young women leaving the foster care system are not prepared for life on their own yet. JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 meets with these young women to teach them basic survival skills, such as cooking, how to be successful in college, and budgeting, that they will need when living independently in a home of their own. Additionally, JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 provides mentorship for young women learning independence. For instance, Andrea McClairne, the founder, will meet with each girl and help them with homework and studying, bring them supplies and items they need, and provide support and guidance. Through JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16’s mentorship and life skills teachings, young women leaving foster care are more prepared to live independently and have a successful life.
JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 Future Goals
JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 is currently searching for a home to provide for the young women coming out of foster care. This house would serve as a transitional home where the young women could have a safe place to stay and prepare for life independently. The organization’s goal is to have the young women stay in this home for about a year and a half to help them get to where they need to be mentally and emotionally and teach them basic life skills. In this home, each girl would have quarterly progression meetings to see where they are at in terms of being prepared for life on their own. After each young woman is prepared for life on their own, they would be moved to another house where they can live independently without a mentor on the premises to see how they do on their own.
Volunteer Opportunities
JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 relies on volunteers to help the young women prepare for an independent life. As an organization based around helping young women who are leaving foster care, this would be a good opportunity for teens and young women to assist less fortunate women. As a volunteer, you may help support and assist the young women leaving foster care by talking to them, helping them with classwork and studying, and teaching them basic life skills. Additionally, JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 needs volunteer therapists and counselors that the girls can talk to about their mental health struggles or any other issues or thoughts they might have. Furthermore, the organization may need more volunteers when they get the homes up and running. For other ways to volunteer, go to the organization’s website and click on get involved.
Other Ways to Help
If you want to help JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 but cannot volunteer, there are other ways to help. One way you can help is by attending the organization’s fundraisers. In May, the organization is hosting a mental health awareness meeting. The date, time, and location of the meeting are to be determined, but details will be posted on their website once they are official. In December, JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 is hosting a sneaker ball fundraiser where you can meet some of the young women being mentored.
Additionally, if you are unable to attend the organization’s fundraising events, you can visit its website and donate to the cause. Scroll to the bottom of the landing page, click on Support Us, and enter the amount you would like to donate. You can also email the organization and ask how to support it.
Contact and Info
The website address is jjshomeofrefuge.org. On the site, you can find more information about the organization’s mission and ways to donate or get involved.
You can also call them at (832) 603-9145 or email info@jjshomeofrefuge.org.
JJ’s Home of Refuge 3:16 is a 501©(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax deductible as per the IRS guidelines.
Meet Houston Missions and the Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast is presented by Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. Paul H. Cannon is a partner in the firm.
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