FLITE Center will expand its footprint in Palm Beach County with Hawks Edge, a 16-bed safe haven for youth and human trafficking survivors in need of shelter and support services. FLITE Center staff and City of West Palm Beach officials took part in a special restoration ceremony that unveiled the renderings and marked the official start of development for the new housing initiative, located at 816 Ninth Street directly across the street from FLITE Center’s West Palm Beach office. Hawks Edge will provide on-site programming and support for young people living in the new building, which is anticipated to be completed by early 2026 at a cost of nearly $1.5 million. This project allows FLITE Center to expand its Collective Impact model, connecting and collaborating with multidisciplinary agencies with the purpose of filling critical gaps in services for this population.

FLITE Center History

Last year, FLITE Center received a unanimous vote from the Palm Beach County Commission to jumpstart the new youth housing facility in the area just west of downtown West Palm Beach owned by Payne Chapel AME Church. The over $1.2 million funding from the County and City of West Palm Beach, with additional funding from FLITE Center and PBC Home ARP Award, will allow for the rehabilitation of the currently vacant multifamily building that will offer eight remodeled two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments for up to 16 individuals in need of support and assistance in becoming self-sufficient.

“We’re thrilled to expand our footprint in Palm Beach, adding more transitional housing as an extension of our much-needed program for our homeless youth and survivors of human trafficking,” said Wanda Perez, interim CEO of FLITE Center. 

For more information, visit flitecenter.org.

For more Good News, read the GOOD NEWS July 2025 Issue at: https://digital.goodnewsfl.org/2025/july/#1