Port in the Storm

For the past eight years, Davidson Cares, the charitable arm of Davidson Realty, has been a beacon of support for non-profits through Jim Davidson’s Annual Clay Day fundraiser. Their remarkable fundraising efforts, totaling almost three-quarters of a million dollars, have left an indelible mark on the local community. When selecting charities for its events, Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Cares, focuses on finding charities that improve the local community and serve vulnerable populations, especially children in need, a cause that the late Jim Davidson was deeply passionate about. One of those charities, the Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center, is a testament to the transformative power of caring.

Davidson Cares was inspired to contribute to the Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center after one of its Clay Day sponsors, MasterCraft Builder Group, completed an emergency renovation of the facility after a flood caused mass damages just days before Christmas.

“We added Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center as one of our charitable causes in 2022 after seeing the impactful work they were doing,” says Sherry Davidson, president of Davidson Cares. “The organization’s mission is so important, and the cost of providing those services is endless. Davidson Cares is proud to help them continue that work.”

Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center is part of the St. Augustine Society, an organization started in 1984 that aims to provide solutions that change the lives of unhoused youth, adults and families. The St. Augustine Society also operates the St. Francis House. Recognizing that unsheltered youths were being underserved, they opened a 5,200-square-foot youth-centered facility for unaccompanied youths.

The facility is located at 1375 Arapaho Avenue and offers day drop-in service for young adults ages 18 to 24 years. It is sometimes the last chance to rescue and help young individuals who have been left in precarious situations before they enter chronic homelessness or suffer further misfortunes. Port in the Storm offers a safe refuge where staff and adult mentors assist with life and job skills, address basic needs, provide housing assistance and most importantly, provide hope, love, encouragement, and stability. The facility also offers 16 beds for youth needing a place to stay.

The St. Augustine Society also conducts outreach services through its S.O.S. program – Street Outreach Services. Teams travel throughout the county to engage unsheltered people on the streets and work to connect them with the services they need, including housing support. They have one team solely dedicated to assisting youths in crisis. These volunteers are specially trained to identify and relate to homeless youth, who can oftentimes be hard to identify and are hesitant to trust. They are connected with the Port in the Storm Homeless Youth Center, where they can access programs and services geared toward them.

Learn more about this amazing cause here.