JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One Jacksonville teen went from being at risk of homelessness to becoming a high school graduate, escaping abuse and rebuilding her life along the way. Thanks to the helping hands of a local program, the teen found safe housing and is now back in school, working, and planning for college.
At just 18, Juliana Alcantara—who goes by Jay—has already faced more than most her age.
“I was with my mom at the time, and it was just like a bit of unstable housing due to substance abuse and such, and the safest option for me was to come and stay with my brother,” Jay said.
After fleeing abuse between the ages of 15 and 16, Jay moved to Jacksonville seeking safety. For a while, she found it living with her brother—until he returned to South Carolina, the very place she was trying to escape.
“And go back there I feel like in a sense...we’re having to relive it even more,” she said.
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With nowhere else to turn, Jay found Daniel’s Project Prepare at the age of 17—a local program that offers housing, life skills, and support to homeless and at-risk youth. She moved into the Independent Living Village last year, and everything began to change.
“Within like the short span. I’m now here and I have my own job and I can find my own transportation and I’ve been able to take up like a lot more responsibilities,” Jay said.
Now at age 18, Jay graduated just last week from Fletcher High School.
“Once I was getting towards the end of school, like wow, I’m actually gonna graduate, and then like a couple days later it was like actually happening,” she said.
She’s now working part-time and looking ahead to college, with dreams of becoming a cosmetologist—or even a firefighter.
“And we are proud of her because she did it,” said Daniel Kids Program Director Carmella Prescott.
Prescott said she’s seen hundreds of teens in similar or worse situations than Jay over the past six years.
“500 to 600 kids, most of them being successful, we’re usually the 90% success rate because we’re so intense,” she said.
Nationally, more than one in four people experiencing homelessness are under age 25. 19% are children under 18, and 8% are young adults between 18 and 24, according to the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report.
Jay said to always trust the timing of things—because she believes you’ll always end up at the destination where you want to be.
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