Last year, 252 youngsters spent time at First Light’s emergency shelter for homeless women and children in Birmingham.

That’s a number First Light is working to decrease, said Lani Powell, the shelter’s director of development, and a $25,000 grant from the Junior League of Birmingham (JLB) will go a long way in helping women establish long-term shelter for their children.

First Light is among 11 nonprofit groups that recently received JLB community assistance grants totaling more than $425,000. Founded in 1922, the JLB has about 2,600 women members committed to promoting volunteerism, developing women’s potential and improving the community.

“The purpose of our organization is to improve the lives of women and children by working with community agencies to deliver services and assistance to those in need,” said JLB President Leigh Haver. The grants support health, safety, education and financial stability of women and children in the Birmingham area.

Powell said the JLB community assistance grant will help support two of First Light’s capacity building programs, Forever Home and Shelter Plus Care. While First Light has 38 beds to provide emergency shelter needs, the organization’s goal is to get women with children into housing as quickly as possible.

“Forever Home is our community’s only privately funded rapid rehousing program for homeless women and their children,” Powell said. “We don’t just put roofs over people’s heads – we help with their future. Forever Home puts them in a safe, secure housing situation.” She noted that the project is designed to assist women who don’t have complex issues such as drug or alcohol addiction, for instance.

The program allows women to “get on their feet,” increasing their financial independence over six months with the help of a professional with a degree in social work for a full year. The JLB grant will also support First Light’s Shelter Plus Care program, which provides women and children the professional support they need to stay in housing and overcome obstacles to self-sufficiency, Powell said.

“This frees up beds in the shelter,” Powell said. “We are so thankful to the Junior League of Birmingham for their generous gift. They are supporting ongoing, successful programs that save lives. We take pride in providing all of our guests, within the emergency shelter and in these and other supportive housing programs, with warap-around social services by qualified professionals who care.”

The JLB awarded scholarships worth $36,000 to 12 young women. (contributed)

This year, the JLB will contribute more than $1 million to the greater Birmingham community, involving 28 partnerships that include funding and volunteer support, seven JLB-controlled projects and grants through the group’s Beeson Fund and community assistance grants.

The JLB helps to “change the face of Birmingham” by allowing for new and expanded programs, said Alison Scott, Beeson Community Fund chair.

Other groups receiving JLB grants include CASA of Jefferson County, Childcare Resources, Collat Jewish Family Services, Hand in Paw, JLB SAIL, Mother’s Milk Bank of Alabama, Oasis Counseling for Women and Children, One Place Family Justice Center, St. Vincent’s Foundation, the Exceptional Foundation and YouthServe.

Twelve young women also received $3,000 college scholarships.