The Harbor at St. Petersburg - Since 2001
Anchoring Lives. Launching Hope. Restoring Nations.
“A family is a haven of rest, a sanctuary of peace and most of all a harbor of love.”
-Manny Feldman
Standing in the Gap
The Russian orphanage state system has changed tremendously in the last 20 years. Today, over 500,000 orphans live in foster families, and another 150,000 live in state institutions. A few thousand orphans annually age out of these state institutions between the ages of 16 and 18. Even in the 21st century, most of these orphans enter a cycle of self-destruction, often falling into a life of crime, alcohol and drug addiction, and prostitution. Many tragically end in suicide.
The founders of The Harbor recognized a profound gap between the orphanage and life outside. The Harbor fills this gap by placing young adult orphans in residential family-style communities, giving them an education and teaching them skills necessary to maintain a home and thrive in Russian society.
Not taking the band-aid approach to the complex problem of Russian orphans, The Harbor stands apart from most models of transitional childcare.
Hundreds of thousands of lives – with the potential for restoring Russian society – are ignored and thrown away, viewed as a lost cause. But graduates from The Harbor are proving that this doesn’t have to be the case.
The Harbor is breaking the ruthless cycle of poverty and abandonment among Russia’s millions of at-risk children by offering them real hope. Nurtured, educated, and taught essential skills, Harbor graduates have become accountants, computer programmers, teachers, seamstresses, nurses, social workers, businessmen, and Christian leaders. At The Harbor, orphans are finding not only a reason to live, but also the skills to live.
