Omaha Home for Boys Receives 175K Grant From United Way of the Midlands

Omaha Home for Boys (www.OmahaHomeForBoys.org) is pleased to announce it was recently awarded a $175,000 grant from United Way of the Midlands (www.UnitedWayMidlands.org). Thanks to the generosity of United Way donors, the more than 200 young adults served each year by Jacobs’ Place and Branching Out, Omaha Home for Boys’ Transitional and Independent Living Programs, will have access to workforce readiness training and basic needs, such as food, shelter and medical care. Additionally, the grant will fund educational support services allowing the young men attending the Omaha Home for Boys’ School the opportunity to get a quality education when the public school system is not the best fit.

Both Jacobs’ Place and Branching Out empower young men and women ages 14 to 24 with the skills needed to lead independent, productive lives. Most youth who enter the program have a history of trauma, have had six or more placements from group homes to foster care, and lack employment, education and a healthy support system. Jacobs’ Place and Branching Out work with these struggling youth to create individualized plans to help them move from a state of crisis to one of safety and growth.

The Omaha Home for Boys’ School educates more than 100 young men annually who are served by the Home’s Residential Care Program. The typical student who first enters the Omaha Home for Boys’ School has issues with truancy, lacks school credits, struggles with sobriety and has had multiple educational placements and suspensions. On average, students progress more than one grade level in math during their time at the Omaha Home for Boys’ School while reading scores improve more than three grade levels. During the 2016-2017 school year, students earned a record-breaking 368 credits, more than double the 174 credits earned the previous school year.