And each is first and foremost, a shelter, a safe place to be when the street is all else that is available. Kids come to our door willingly. We do not take referrals. Our Open Intake policy means we take any kid that comes. Nobody can send us a kid.
Admission is always voluntary.
We see kids as young as five in Latin America. The average age there is eleven. In the U.S. we see kids as young as ten, but our average age is seventeen. Most of our admissions are teenagers, and any youth up to age 21 is welcome. During the past year we admitted over 25,000 kids.