Dr. Fred Lippman and the Legacy of LSF’s Lippman Youth Shelter
When you walk through the doors of LSF’s Lippman Youth Shelter in Oakland Park, you are stepping into a place that exists because one man refused to look away. Dr. Fred Lippman, pharmacist, legislator, university chancellor and tireless child advocate, saw a crisis unfolding in Broward County’s communities and chose to do something about it.
The shelter that bears his name today serves approximately 125 young people each year, and its story begins with him. Research showed that children, including young girls, were running away and ending up on the street, even from gated communities. It revealed major social issues that no one was addressing.
This reality was one he could not ignore. How he chose to proceed was a master class in civic leadership: bringing the right people together, building legislative consensus and turning a community problem into a structured, state-supported solution.
Dr. Lippman served in the Florida House of Representatives for nearly 20 years, from 1978 to 1998, earning a reputation as one of the chamber’s most committed advocates for children and vulnerable populations. It was during this time that he turned his attention to a troubling trend: runaway and homeless youth. Many of these young people were from stable, even affluent neighborhoods yet disappeared into the streets of Broward County with no dedicated place to turn.
He engaged the Governor’s office and convened a bipartisan group of legislators, community leaders and advocates to address what he saw as a critical gap in child protection. The coalition’s work produced landmark legislation that created the legal and financial framework for Children In Need of Services and Families In Need of Services (CINS/FINS) shelters throughout Florida, enabling both state funding and local support for youth in crisis.
Fred engaged the governor and brought together a bipartisan group. The result was a bill that enabled growth and state support for centers, creating the legal and financial framework for the shelter to exist.
Closer to home, Dr. Lippman leveraged his relationships with the Broward County Commission to secure property and housing for the shelter. Broward County Commission contributed both the land and the facility. In recognition of his pivotal role in making it possible, the shelter was named in his honor: Lippman Youth Shelter.
Dr. Lippman’s impact extends far beyond the shelter that bears his name. A pharmacist for more than two decades before entering public service, he eventually become Chancellor of Nova Southeastern University’s Health Professions Division, where he oversaw eight colleges and helped shape the region’s healthcare education landscape for a generation.
Throughout his career, he has been recognized with some of the highest honors in Florida’s civic and healthcare communities:
- Child Advocate of the Year, Florida Pediatric Society, 1996
- Youth Law Center Distinguished Achievement Award
- Outstanding Advocate, Institute of Holocaust Documentation at FIU, 1997, for leading Holocaust educational curricula in Florida’s public schools
- Hubert H. Humphrey Award for Excellence in Pharmacy, American Pharmaceutical Association, 1986
- Health Care Heroes, Individual of Merit, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, 2015
- Honored by Florida’s Children First for his lifetime of work on behalf of Broward County’s children, 2016
He holds a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Columbia University College of Pharmacy and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Nova Southeastern University.
Today, Lippman Youth Shelter, managed by LSF, carries Dr. Lippman’s legacy of services and excellence forward. Lippman is Broward County’s only emergency shelter exclusively dedicated to run away, homeless and at-risk youth ages 10 to 17.
With a 20-bed capacity, the shelter serves approximately 125 young people each year, offering up to 21 days of free emergency housing, trauma-informed counseling, crisis stabilization, academic support and family reunification services.
The young people who come through Lippman’s doors carry their own stories. They have experienced homelessness, abuse, domestic violence, trafficking or family crisis. At Lippman, they are provided with wrap around services to change the trajectory of their life and restore hope.
The shelter’s approach is grounded in trauma-informed care, evidence-based therapy and the belief that every young person deserves safety and a second chance. This reflects the same values that motivated Dr. Lippman to act decades ago.
At 91 years old, Dr. Lippman remains a living connection to the shelter’s founding mission. He calls himself “vintage,” with a warmth and humor that reflects a life well and fully lived, and he remains deeply proud of what the shelter has become. At LSF, we are grateful to be the stewards of his legacy and honored to carry his name on the door of a place where lives are changed every day.
