TAMPA, Fla., (WFLA) – New Life Village in Tampa is where the entire community comes together to help raise children in need.
Right now, they have 10 openings, which leaders said is unheard of. These openings are for people who are in the process of adopting, have adopted, or are 55 years and up and willing to help support these families with a fresh start.
To get the full picture of NLV, think of an apartment complex that meets a YMCA concept, where everyone shares a common mission.
“To help children impacted who have been impacted by trauma to heal in a safe neighborhood,” said Mariah Hayden, executive director of New Life Village.
This Village is 52 townhomes, and to qualify, you have to be preventing children from going into the foster care system.
“You either need to be a kindship family, so that’s a relative taking care of a relative child, or you need to be fostering to permanency, so a licensed foster care, or you need to be adopting or adoptive,” Hayden said.
The other part of the population are people 55 years and up that help raise the children by participating in activities, being mentors, and providing a safe space for the kids.
“It’s fun to teach kids about different things that they know nothing about, you know? And I learn a lot from them too,” said Peggy Blachard, a senior who has lived at NLV for 7 years.
According to NLV, around 600,000 kids will find themselves in foster care or family court systems this year, 4,000 in Hillsborough County, and on average, these children will change homes three times.
“A campus for children who have been through hard times just to get to be kids again, there’s no stigma here about being in foster care or being adopted,” Hayden said.
This 12-acre property is filled with a big playground, an athletic field, a basketball court, pools, gardens, and a place for children to feel like kids again.
“You see them, they always come up and they hug you, they’re happy to see you. It’s just an amazing feeling instead of teenage kids that go eh,” said Andora McCullers, a senior who has lived at NLV for 5 years.
The families that live at NLV are met with therapeutic, vocational, and financial resources, along with support, and an entire village to lean on.
“This is for the kids, and it makes living here worth it,” McCullers said.
If you meet the qualifications to live at NLV, the best thing to do is schedule a tour with the property manager and then fill out an application. For more information, click here.