Haven Adolescent Community Respite Center

On June 17th, 2020, my best friend Jeff and I celebrated our birthday with a 100-mile bike ride. 12 twelve people of various backgrounds came together during a chaotic time to achieve a challenging goal that tested strength, commitment, and endurance. That experience started Bikes Will Save The World, and this ride to Philly is now an annual tradition. In 2021 we used the ride as a fundraiser for a local youth program, and this year we will do it again. June 10, 2023, we will ride 100 miles from Jersey City to Philadelphia (plus another 40 the following day from Philly to Princeton) as a fundraiser for Haven Adolescent Community Respite Center, an organization that provides vital, family-strengthening, community-based services for adolescents and their families experiencing family conflict, significantly reducing the risks of teen homelessness and incarceration. They provide counseling, positive opportunities for youth development, and short-term residential alternatives to incarceration or homelessness when necessary. If 12 people riding a bicycle to Philly can help one kid, then it's proof that "Bikes Will Save The World." 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Haven House for their continued efforts in providing services for adolescents and their families without stigma. Young people and their families will be provided with long-term solutions to family conflicts in which adolescence, poverty, social and political pressures, mental health and drug addiction intensify. https://www.havenrespite.org/ https://bikeswillsavetheworld.com/

Haven needs your help.

Recently, two of our youth participants were viciously attacked, falling victim to the increasing gun violence in Jersey City. Thankfully, they will make a full recovery physically. But mentally and emotionally, they need all of our help and support in coping with this event and its aftermath, as well as those around them.  We are working to create a system of support and nurturing that will make the community of young people this shooting impacts more secure, resilient and stronger beacons of anti-violence.

We are reaching out to our family, friends, neighbors and community members to urgently raise $5,000 by Friday, December 22nd to ensure the impacted community receives the mental health and social support services they need through trained social workers and other professionals who have expertise in helping youth manage post-traumatic stress. We’ve already raised $500, but they need our support and we can’t wait.

Small contributions add up quickly. We ask that you consider making even a small donation as an investment in these youth with promising futures ahead of them who, with our collective support, can manage through and overcome this trauma. We can’t let this be a setback for these young adults.

For $30 contributions and up, we’ll be sure to send you a Haven t-shirt or totebag as a token of our appreciation. They can make great holiday gifts for those in your life who believe in the type of work Haven does.

READ HERE to learn more about the growing gun violence in Jersey City and the amazing work of our partner, Dwayne Baskerville, in empowering our young people to combat these forces by channeling their talents and abilities into positive action – and getting results.

And to learn more about the Haven Adolescent Community Respite Center, visit us on Facebook or in person at 13 Roosevelt Avenue, Jersey City.

Thank you for your support; it will make a huge difference for our youth.