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Spring is finally here, welcoming bright budding leaves, a wealth of beautiful sunny days, and a new year of Fig! With this first issue of 2025, we are thrilled to introduce all our readers to our new Social Mission for the year: Palmetto Place Children and Youth Services. Over this next Fig cycle, we will spotlight all Palmetto Place does for our Columbia community and beyond.
Ever since its founding nearly fifty years ago by the Junior Woman’s Club of Columbia, Palmetto Place has sheltered over 7,500 teenagers and young adults in need of emergency housing. The organization first began as a shelter for pregnant teenagers and young moms, expanding in 2012 to become a safe space for South Carolina youths who have nowhere else to turn and creating a home centered around care, kindness, and protection.
Palmetto Place operates through two main shelters: The Oaks and Samantha’s House. At The Oaks, unaccompanied teenagers and young adults receive all that would be provided in a safe and stable home environment: long-term housing, food, clothing, and a community of supporters who genuinely care about their health and wellbeing. The Palmetto Place team helps residents become independent by connecting them with jobs, providing transportation to and from school and work, and saving a portion of each resident’s paycheck so they have a financial nest egg when they leave.
Afterward, residents may live independently or move to Samantha’s House for transitional housing. At Samantha’s House, the apartment-style setting gives young adults a bridge between the group house and living on their own. Each former resident receives a year of additional service from Palmetto Place called Aftercare, where a member of the team calls regularly to check in and ensure they have everything they need to thrive in their next step.
This only brushes the surface of all Palmetto Place offers to teens and young adults in South Carolina. We are immeasurably lucky to have such a giving, necessary place like this in Columbia for those who need it. If you would like to donate to or volunteer with Palmetto Place as they pursue their mission of helping abused or unsheltered youths, please call 803.350.9323. Click here to learn more.
