On a leafy, tree-lined street in southeastern Naples, a group of children takes some time to think about what their future safe space might look like: An inviting music studio, an indoor gym, meditation and game rooms, and a dining area fit for 70. For these kids, the temporary home is the first step to a brighter future. Youth Haven, the only shelter for unhoused children and teens in Southwest Florida, aims to put that future in motion. On the 18.5-acre campus, up to 74 neglected youths, ages 6 to 20, find the resources and encouragement they need. Youth Haven just announced a $20 million Building Hope for Tomorrow capital campaign to bring every last detail of the children’s visions to life with a new central programming building, which will triple the original’s size.
Incorporated in 1969 by juvenile court Judge Richard Stanley, Youth Haven started humbly with one building on a 5-acre parcel. More than 50 years later, the nonprofit’s space has nearly quadrupled in size, growing to include an emergency shelter for victims of abuse, multiple group foster home cottages and a transitional living space for older teens entering adulthood. The aim is to help the children find their passions, fostering the same opportunities for success as other kids in the community by creating a safe space for abandoned, abused and neglected children to study, hope, heal and lay out concrete plans for their futures. “We are their family when they don’t have a family,” Youth Haven CEO Linda Goldfield says. “All of us who work here, we feel like we’ve found our calling, our forever home.”
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Photography by Kelly Jones
youth haven nwwf grantee
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Photography by Kelly Jones
youth haven nwwf grantee
NCEF has been key to the shelter’s growth, with more than $7 million in grants allocated in 24 years benefitting kids like Desiree (third from left) and Eduardo (left). “Their presence in our community as the gatekeepers of philanthropy has shone a light on what we are doing,” says Youth Haven CEO Linda Goldfield (second from left).
As time passes, the need for Youth Haven only grows. In 2024, there were about 50 foster families in Collier County, with more than 500 kids in the system looking for stable, safe homes. At Youth Haven, bed space is often at capacity, and the length of stays are increasing, the result of what Goldfield cites as the ‘perfect storm’ of rising rent prices in a community not known for affordable housing.
In many ways, the trajectories of Youth Haven and the NWWF are deeply intertwined. In the late ’90s, Youth Haven was hosting a wine auction as an annual fundraiser when some of the future founding trustees of NCEF approached them about their idea to create a world-class, wine-focused philanthropic weekend. They invited Youth Haven into the fold as one of two initial beneficiaries at the first NWWF in 2001. At the time, few nonprofit collaborations existed here, something NCEF hoped to change. As a central organizing agency, NCEF can evaluate the landscape, see where the needs and resources are and bring groups together to maximize their efforts. A myriad of such partnerships have bolstered Youth Haven. One recent collaboration involves Youth Haven working with United Arts Collier, which offers free arts education to children living at the shelter through NCEF funding.
Youth Haven has received grants from NCEF for the past 25 years—including more than $400,000 last year alone. That sum covers half of the annual operating budget for Rob’s Cottage, their transitional facility for unhoused teens—costs covered through NWWF fundraising since the cottage launched in 2018. The first designated refuge in Southwest Florida for at-risk teens and young adults as they work to find permanent housing, Rob’s Cottage teaches 16- to 21-year-olds to thrive in the adult world, whether it’s advising them on balancing a checkbook or cooking Blue Zones-approved dinners. The first graduate of the program, a young woman who has spoken at NWWF’s Meet the Kids Day, is now an assistant state attorney in Collier County.
Goldfield recognizes the deep impact NCEF has on her organization’s growth. “We are grateful for the support we receive from them, and it’s beyond the financial,” she says. “Their presence in our community as the gatekeepers of philanthropy has shone a light on what we are doing.”
With NCEF’s support, Youth Haven has been able to expand its influence markedly in the past decade, adding signature fundraisers and opening its campus to the community for people to visit and mentor children. Goldfield’s arrival five years ago served as a catalyst for the nonprofit. Shortly after, she invited her friend, dynamo restaurateur and longtime Youth Haven supporter Ingrid Aielli, to join the board, expanding the nonprofit’s network.
Looking into the proverbial crystal ball, Goldfield says a much-needed second transitional living program and emergency shelter are at the top of the organization’s strategic plan for the next decade after the current Building Hope for Tomorrow campaign to renovate Youth Haven’s main facility. “There is a misconception that the children are broken,” Goldfield says. “But I’m here to say they are resilient, and they have the brightest future when they move beyond the trauma of what they’ve experienced.”

Photography by Kelly Jones
youth haven nwwf grantee
“We are their family when they don’t have a family,” Goldfield says. “All of us who work here, we feel like we’ve found our calling, our forever home.”

“We are their family when they don’t have a family,” Goldfield says. “All of us who work here, we feel like we’ve found our calling, our forever home.”
youth haven nwwf grantee
The nonprofit’s team recently launched the $20 million Building Hope for Tomorrow capital campaign to update the 18.5-acre campus’ 1971 main building. Youth Haven services are needed now more than ever, with bed spaces at capacity and length of stays increasing.