LOTUS HOUSE EXPANSION: Making room for innovative children’s neighborhood education and resource center, from left, James Haj, CEO, Miami Dade County Children’s Trust; City of Miami Commission Chairwoman Christine King; Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava; model Gisele Bundchen; and Constance Collins, president of Lotus Endowment Fund. PHOTO COURTESY OF LOTUS HOUSE

MIAMI, Fla. – Lotus House, one of the largest homeless shelters in the United States that helps domestic abused women with children turn their lives around, is expanding with an education and playground facility for kids.

The non-profit organization recently broke ground for the second phase of a 71,000square-feet, five story Children’s Village at Lotus House, at 217 NW 15th St. in Overtown, to benefit children being sheltered there.

Lotus Endowment purchased land to build the facility that includes playground and outdoor recreational facilities, a new children services building with expanded educational and therapeutic spaces, a preschool for kids and children living in the nearby Miami area, and a resource center for children and their families.

The facilities also include additional job training for women and resources to connect them with employment opportunities.

Constance Collins, president of Lotus Endowment Fund, said the project cost is $32 million.

The first phase of the project was expanding the residential building to 140 units for a total of 105,000 square feet that houses a new culinary center, a wellness center and arts and activities lab.

Lotus House needed the additional spaces for sheltering more than 1,550 women and children and expanding services to help women get back on their feet, while their kids are being educated as well and having some fun with the new amenities.

Collins said the amount of women and children sheltered by the nonprofit soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the Children’s Village, Lotus Endowment continues and deepens its commitment to the important work of Lotus House changing and transforming the trauma of homelessness into a window of opportunity for children to heal, learn, grow and thrive and prevent and end homelessness," said Collins.

"Our children need room to play and work … remembering children’s work is play. The new Children’s Village will allow us to more deeply support our neighborhood children at the same time we provide additional space needed by the shelter to operate in the new normal."

City of Miami Commissioner Chairwoman Christine King, whose district covers the project, said the expansion plan for the play-ground will put a smile on the faces of kids who are going through a difficult time with their parents.

"Children’s Village will be an innovative children’s neighborhood education and resource center for the children of Lotus House and the Overtown community," said King.

Applauded for its efforts to help battered and homeless women, Lotus House has received some generous donations.

Perhaps the biggest contributions came from the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation, which donated $25 million, as well as $3 million from the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation. Norman and Irma Braman donated $2 million.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, on behalf of the city, donated $200,000 to Lotus

House last year to expand its workforce and education program for homeless women and children, and for assisting his efforts to curb chronic homelessness in Miami with his Functional Zero Plan.

His stated goal is to make Miami the first major U.S. city to reach functional zero for chronic homelessness.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, said: "A huge congratulations to Lotus House on the groundbreaking of the new children’s village. Supporting people, especially children and families, when they are at their hardest times, can make a world of difference and change their lives forever. The Children’s Village at Lotus House will further expand their reach, as the largest women’s shelter in the nation"