Casa Valentina volunteers, staff, and residents

Casa Valentina (CV) is Miami’s best-kept nonprofit secret, aiming to make significant change across the community. In 2006, Casa Valentina was built to help at-risk and former foster youth transition from foster care to adult living. CV provides residents with safe and affordable housing, a platform to gain an education and life skills, employment, and financial insights, combined with devoted case management. Most significantly, these young people receive the care and support they need to help them reach their full potential while achieving autonomy and self-sufficiency.

The woman at the helm of Casa Valentina is Executive Director Janice Graham. With a background in human resources, employee relations, training, and education – Janice’s life experiences culminated in her role as a changemaker in the lives of Casa Valentina’s youth.

M At Work sat down with Janice to better understand how the pieces of her puzzle aligned in such a magical way to lead her here.

“The common denominator of each of those positions is human connection. Without a close connection to one another, we cannot achieve our goals as a community.

I strive every day to bring my depth of knowledge about the human condition to every interaction and to everyone – be they a resident, a team member, another nonprofit executive, a board member, or donor.”

As a mother of four who radiates maternal love, we wondered how Janice’s journey as a mother helped her tap into a new level of love for these youth at Casa Valentina?

“As a parent, I was fortunate to watch as my children grew, turned 18, and left the nest. They knew they had our support. Even with that support, the mistakes they made along the way were necessary for their growth. The youth at Casa Valentina are no different. When they age out of foster care at 18 years of age, they are still in need of some form of support. Our team is here to guide them as they make mistakes and discover who they are.”

Creating the space at Casa Valentina made it imperative to construct a solid connection with residents while still meeting their needs. So, Janice, how do you create a space where youth feel at home?

“It is so important for our young men and women to feel a sense of ‘home’ if they are going to thrive and sustain themselves once they leave Casa Valentina.

As the Executive Director, I am determined to create a campus-like feel where our young men and women can live and learn. I want our residents to feel comfortable relying on the expertise of the qualified professionals that help them through their journey while they are here and as they transition. The idea of ‘home’ is that you’re always welcome back and it is a place where each person is treated as an individual and we meet them where they are.”

Janice is a ray of sunshine whose light of hope shines through – she uses that light to further fuel her mission.

“I believe that as a leader, you must exude hope and positivity if you are going to effect change. It is this that helps us to see each resident’s potential they can realize as they begin their journey into young adulthood.”

In building the Casa Valentina network, Janice is looking to partner with companies in the community, such as their partnership with Capital One to help CV youth with their financial literacy and even a mentorship program with The M Network. How will these partnerships impact youth?

“The beauty of community partnerships is that they usually begin with something like a series of financial literacy workshops and as they become more invested in our organization, the relationship evolves into more possibilities for our youth, such as mentorships, volunteer projects, employment opportunities – all of which are in line with my vision for exposure, education and career planning.

M Network is an extension of this work and my vision. This opportunity comes at a perfect time, and we are thrilled and looking forward to how this relationship will evolve.”

Janice said something that stuck with us, “you cannot grow without being exposed.” A big part of her mission is to allow young people to be creative with their success concepts. Regardless of their background, everyone has a promise.

“When I began working at Casa Valentina as the Education Director, I knew that the concept of ‘success’ had to evolve to include a more complex spectrum of human exceptionality. My focus originally was solely on education, with my goal being to ensure all youth were enrolled in school in some fashion.

As I watched residents switch majors, fail classes, become bored of attending school, I soon realized that there was more to education than simply being in four walls – youth need to feel excited about what it is they are doing. It evolved into a comprehensive approach from this perspective.

To that end, when I became Executive Director, my vision became larger; I wanted each of the youth to be exposed to various possibilities – many of which our youth had never considered. Then it was simply education; now it is education, employment and career planning.”

To learn more about Casa Valentina, click here.