San Mar's young adult housing project wins support of commissioners, Nora Roberts charity

A plan to renovate buildings on the campus of San Mar Family & Community Services to provide housing and services for young women got a financial boost last week as the Nora Roberts Foundation has awarded a $1 million toward the project.

The Washington County Commissioners also agreed to seek a federal Community Development Block Grant of $800,000 for the project.

San Mar announced the plan as a nearly $6 million project for its Boonsboro campus last fall. The plan is to renovate an office building that was originally designed as an orphanage into 15 apartments for women aged 18 to 24, who are in a transition period from youth care to adulthood.

Other buildings on the campus will be updated to house case management, mental health services and other services.

The idea, according to San Mar officials, is to prevent homelessness and further hardship for these young women and teach them various critical skills necessary for success — with a safety net of support — during the transition.

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San Mar's research found that Washington County posted a rate of disconnected youth — defined as teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither working nor in school — that is 50% greater than the rest of the state. These young people are at higher risk for homelessness and other social issues, particularly when they are coming out of foster or group care.

"This issue of housing, especially for younger adults, kept coming to us," San Mar CEO Keith Fanjoy told the commissioners on Tuesday. "And ultimately, we came down to this determination with our community partners that we have buildings that are underutilized, why don't we reposition those buildings for those young people, to prevent them from being homeless and giving them that safety net."

While there, they'll receive supportive services, said Deputy Executive Director Jerica Washington.

"If you think of a hotel, having a concierge person there," Washington said. "Also similar to a college campus where you have (a resident assistant), someone there that's there for 24/7 support of these young women, but also having a case manager there to help them with their goals, and connecting to resources that we have in our community."

Counselors would also be available to help them with life skills, she said, "so that then when they are ready to go into the community, they have those skills and can maintain on their own independently in the community."

"This is not a destination," Fanjoy told the commissioners, but rather a transitional option that would be available for about two years for most of the participants.

"We think two years is a good target — 18 to 24 months — that young people can develop the skills" they need in preparation for moving out of the facility, he said. "There's wiggle room there; that's not something that is a firm deadline for every young person."

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The capital campaign is on

The Nora Roberts Foundation agreed to award its grant to the project "after several months of collaboration on the concept," according to a news release from San Mar.

“This investment from the Nora Roberts Foundation is a humbling statement to our leadership team that when you focus on doing the right things, the right way, like-minded community members will be drawn to joining in the opportunity to make a big impact," Fanjoy said in the release.

The capital campaign for San Mar’s renovation of its Boonsboro campus is now officially underway. San Mar has been seeking partnerships and grants on several levels, and recently received a commitment of $75,000 from the Jone L. Bowman Family Foundation. For more information, contact San Mar Director of Development Elisa Mabina at 301-733-9067, ext. 250, or emabina@sanmarhope.org.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: County commissioners, Nora Roberts Foundation support San Mar project