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HOPE 4 Youth ENews | November 2016
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November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month and HOPE 4 Youth shines a light on this issue each and every day by guiding young people experiencing homelessness from a dark past to a bright future. Last year, 369 youth walked through our Drop-In Center doors looking to meet their basic needs, secure housing, find employment, finish their education, access health and wellness services and more.
We know that there is no one-size-fits- all definition of homeless youth. Every young person walks through our doors with different circumstances. We do know that as a child: one out of two were physically abused and one out of three sexually abused, one out of four was neglected and two out of three were in out-of-home placements. We also know that when they come to HOPE 4 Youth they are in need of a supportive community who can guide them on their path from homeless to housed.
Since starting in July, our Director of Programs & Properties, Sara Kemp, has spent countless hours forming partnerships so that we are able to find all housing options on the spectrum for the youth. The partnerships that she and others have built prove that when the community comes together, great things can and will happen.
Lisa Jacobson, our Executive Director and Sara recently met with Paul Schley, Anoka Community Liaison Officer, to figure out how to help the young people find a permanent place to lay their heads at night - not on the streets.
Officer Schley also introduced them to a couple who owns a property in Anoka that want to help homeless youth. The couple, Karl and Lynn, visited the Drop-In Center for a tour and to discuss their role going forward in helping with housing for the youth. They understand the barriers that the youth face, lack of rental and credit history, possible criminal history, not being able to work enough to afford two times the monthly rent, and they are willing to work with them regardless. Going forward, instead of advertising when a unit is available Karl will directly contact Sara to see if one of our youth would be a fit for the unit.
Officer Schley later shared that
quite honestly. if he had to label the most fulfilling things he had done so far in his career this would rank very near the top.
Because of these and other community partners,
three of our youth have moved from homeless to housed in the past month. One young man moved into his very own apartment on Nov. 1. He first walked through the doors of HOPE 4 Youth a little over five months ago. His family circumstances had drastically changed and he found himself kicked out with nowhere to go. All of a sudden he had the status of homeless. That first night he was able to stay with a friend. The next day he came to HOPE 4 Youth.
On his first visit, he met with our case managers who referred him to a shelter so that he had somewhere warm to sleep for the night. Before heading to the shelter, he was able to grab clean clothes for the next day and filled his stomach with a hot, nutritious meal at HOPE 4 Youth. He continued to visit the Drop-In Center when the doors opened each day to meet his basic needs – food clothing, personal hygiene products – and work on his employment, education and housing goals. Case Manager, Eddie, worked side-by-side with him on every visit to help move him closer to his goals. All the while, he continued to spend his days working and his nights sleeping at the shelter.
With the help of a HOPE 4 Youth staff referral to our community partner, Rise, the young man was able to secure a one bedroom apartment in Anoka. The HOPE 4 Youth family quickly worked to supply him with all the basics that he would need in his new home – kitchen items, towels, a bed and other furniture, etc., as well as, helped move the young man into his new home. He cannot thank HOPE 4 Youth enough for helping him through the hardest time of his life.
A young couple also moved into a one bedroom apartment at the end of November. The two had been homeless for the past two years, the young woman kicked out by her parents two weeks before her 18th birthday and the young man kicked out since his junior year of High School. The two couch hopped at first and then when they ran out of couches to crash on they stayed at a shelter. Unfortunately, when they started working the shelter required them to pay $891 a month to continue living there so they left. Both couch hopped again until they moved into their own apartment.
They are both thankful for the kindness and assistance that HOPE 4 Youth showed them in their time of need - selecting clothes from the clothing closets for job interviews, accessing the food pantry, doing laundry so they could wear clean clothes. The support from staff and mentors kept them on their path to find housing.
HOPE 4 Youth knows that it takes a village to help the young people achieve a future where they have left their status of homeless behind them. With a community of partners beside us we know we can help them do just that!
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In This Issue
Feature Story: Homeless to Housed
Letter From the Executive Director
Home for the Holidays: HOPE Place's Doors are Opening!
48 Hour Challenge
Raise the Roof
New Ways Your Church Can Help
Program Corner: Blessed!
Program Highlights
Volunteer Spotlight: Paul Church
Community Partner Spotlight: Power of 100 Twin Cities
Community Partners
Welcome Joyce Finch, Development Associate
Upcoming Events
Event Wrap-Up
In the News
How HOPE 4 Youth Helps
HOPE 4 Youth Needs
Staff
Board of Directors
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Letter from the Executive Director
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Together, the words youth and homeless may seem out of place to you. But did you know that every night in the State of Minnesota there is an estimated 4,000 unaccompanied homeless youth living on the streets?
For most of us, it’s unfathomable how this could happen. The causes are deep-rooted, multi-layered and extremely complicated. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a large number of homeless children interviewed reported that their parents told them to leave or knew they were leaving and did not care. The reasons for escaping a traumatic home life include physical and mental abuse, economic problems and overall neglect. In addition, many homeless children suffer from depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders. As you might imagine, these young people are susceptible to teen pregnancy and criminal activity, leading to a continual cycle of abuse. Most of them have been dealt a bad hand since birth.
I have now been here at HOPE 4 Youth for nine months and during that time have seen many young people who simply want a positive adult to care about them, show them the way out of homelessness and be there through the good times and the bad. As we work to get into authentic relationships with whoever walks through our door, HOPE 4 Youth continually changes and improves how we work with youth. Staff and volunteers are committed to walking alongside them on their journey out of homelessness.
None of this is possible without the commitment of our community to support our work. At this time of year, we rely on your generosity to end the year strong. Making a gift to HOPE 4 Youth is easy and very appreciated. We take every dollar seriously, so whether you can give $10 or $10,000, you are making a difference in the lives of homeless youth. Please click here to make your gift now. This year you can even give a gift in honor of someone and HOPE 4 Youth will provide you with a card to wrap up and put under the tree.
Enjoy the next few weeks preparing for the holidays and as you keep warm from the approaching cold weather, please remember HOPE 4 Youth and our young people in your thoughts. We appreciate your support!
Warm regards,
Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director
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Home for the Holidays: HOPE Place's Doors are Opening!
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Please join us before we bring the first homeless young people home and attend our HOPE Place Community Open House and Ribbon Cutting. This is your chance to see how HOPE 4 Youth is impacting youth homelessness right here in your own backyard.
WHAT: HOPE Place Community Open House and Ribbon Cutting
WHEN: Monday, December 5, 2016, 2-6 p.m.; Ribbon Cutting at 4:15 p.m. Come by for a tour before we move young people in.
WHERE: HOPE Place, 80 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (Formerly Stage Door Dance/Kid’s Time Childcare)
Questions? Contact Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director, at
[email protected] or 763.323.2066, ext. 107.
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This Holiday Season as your children
are nestled all snug in their beds
with visions of happiness dancing
in their heads ...
Please remember the young people who walk through the doors of HOPE 4 Youth and have no permanent place to lay their heads - visions of darkness, loneliness and hunger fill their heads.
HOPE 4 Youth invites you and your family to make a difference in the lives of these young people by taking the
48 - HOUR CHALLENGE to impact youth homelessness right here, in your own backyard.
Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? It’s time to create visions of happiness for the young people who are not snuggled all warm in their beds by taking the
48 Hour Challenge!
Did you know that in the first 48 hours of being on the street, one in three young people will be trafficked for sex?* Let’s end this by getting these young people off the streets.
1. RECORD: Take a video of yourself sharing the above statistic and share that you are giving up something that a homeless youth may not have - say the name of the item and show it (see list of items below), if possible. Also state that you will be donating $48 (any amount will do) to HOPE 4 Youth. Youth can donate $4-$8.
2. UPLOAD: Upload your video to Facebook and challenge (tag) at least 4-8 of your friends to do the same within 48 hours. We are asking everyone to challenge Ellen DeGeneres in hopes that she will get involved. Use
#48hours4HOPE and tag
HOPE 4 Youth in your post.
3. GIVE: Make your gift to HOPE 4 Youth. Give at
HOPE4YouthMN.org or fill out the giving envelope and mail it. You could also donate another $48 on behalf of someone as a gift for the Holidays. Please contact us if you wish to do so and we will send you a card to give them in honor of your gift.
Don’t have Facebook or can’t take the 48 Hour Challenge? You can simply give any amount to help
these young people leave their “status” of homeless in the past.
Questions? Contact Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director, at
[email protected] or 763.323.2066, ext. 107.
Items you could give up include pillow, blanket, cell phone, Facebook, computer, soda, eating out, spending money, use of a car, makeup, coffee, sleep on the couch or the floor.
*The statistic is from “Bought and Sold” published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2016
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HOPE Place needs a new roof! Please help us Raise the Roof before staff and members of the Board of Directors go up on the roof in the cold on December 28th until every dollar is raised – $94,000.
If 94 businesses and civic groups each give $1,000 we will Raise the Roof!
There are homeless youth in every community of the Twin Cities. We at HOPE 4 Youth are making a difference in the lives of many each and every day. When young people arrive at our door, they are in need of a supportive community that understands what faces them each day and can guide them through rebuilding their lives. Every day, we see 30-40 young people and we provide them with their most basic needs including: a
hot, nutritious meal, f
ood from our food shelf, b
asic hygiene items, c
lothes from our clothing closets, a
hot shower and laundry facilities.
Then we help put the youth on a path to their future by: s
ecuring housing, finding jobs, f
inishing school, a
ccessing health and wellness services and more.
However, there are simply not enough housing options, so HOPE 4 Youth is currently building HOPE Place, a Transitional Living Program, set to open soon. This is the first transitional housing facility for youth ages 18-24 in the north metro suburbs; HOPE 4 Youth’s first long-term solution to eliminate youth homelessness in Anoka County.
HOPE 4 Youth has been working hard to raise the money to construct HOPE Place and now we must raise additional funds for a new roof. We are thrilled with the growing number of people who share our commitment to make a difference in the lives of young people experiencing homelessness and we invite you to join us! I look forward to your support in this journey of changing young lives.
Questions? Contact Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director,
[email protected] or 763.323.2066, ext. 107.
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NEW Ways Your Church Can Help
HOPE 4 Youth has two fun, new ways for your congregation to help us in our work with homeless youth. The Wall of HOPE and Stockings of HOPE are easy ways to raise awareness, money and budget-relief gift cards for this organization. We also LOVE to send our staff out to speak at churches to kick-off one of these activities. We find it helps your members understand the need in this community, as many of them may not know the crisis we are in with homeless youth in the north metro area.
Wall of HOPE
: We provide you with numbered envelopes, from 50 up to 250. These envelopes are hung on a large wall in your church and members walk up to the wall removing the numbered envelope that matches the amount they want to give. It can be done over a couple of Sundays, or all at once. For example, if your church takes 200 envelopes and all of the envelopes are filled, you will have raised $20,100 for homeless youth programming!
Stockings for HOPE: During this holiday season, HOPE 4 Youth can provide you with a 3-foot high stocking to hang in your church. Congregation members are then asked to place gift cards in any amount for a wide variety of places (list provided on a poster with the stocking). Church members can also place checks in the stocking as well. This will make a huge difference for HOPE 4 Youth finishing the year strong!
To request either of these and/or a speaker for your church, please contact Cheri Halek,Community Engagement Manager, at
[email protected] or 763.323.2066, ext. 102.
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Program Corner: Blessed!
I have been a volunteer for HOPE 4 Youth for almost 2.5 years. I have met hundreds of young people experiencing homelessness. Some of the stories they share have broken my heart yet they continue to get up each day and move forward. We have seen MANY changes in the center over the last few years but the one thing that has NEVER changed … the clients know that we are always there for them.
Most of us are volunteers. We work full-time jobs, we are parents, we are grandparents, we are good listeners and we are compassionate. I see so many BIG HEARTS in our volunteers and it’s a blessing to have so many dedicated individuals, especially Paul, Craig, Ron and Laurie. These four individuals have been here since the beginning and have almost NEVER missed a volunteer shift. They have taught me so much over the last couple of years. They have helped clients. They have loved clients. They have talked clients off of a ledge. Literally. They have saved lives.
Some of the volunteers have been through their own hell – maybe with their own children or maybe with themselves and they continue to bring their love, energy and experience to the lives of our young people. I am amazed with the power of experience and prayer! We are all brought together because of our compassion and desire to make a difference.
One of my favorite stories is about a young lady who came to Minnesota with her partner and was rejected by her partner’s family, then ditched by her partner and left in an entirely new state – knowing no one. She came to HOPE 4 Youth, looked for jobs, spent time on the computer writing her resume – ate a meal every day – was respectful to EVERYONE and landed two jobs within about two weeks. A couple months later, we moved her into her own apartment. I think she had THREE jobs at that time. She was determined to succeed! I think about her every day. She told me she couldn’t have done it without the help of HOPE 4 Youth and the awesome volunteers.
Or how about ‘R’ who was kicked out as a teenager because his dad found a new girlfriend and she made him choose her or ‘R’. He became homeless and lived with knowing his father chose a new girlfriend over his own son. Tragic. Sad. Heartbreaking. But he trudged forward. He used to love scaring me! Drove me nuts because I knew he would try and do it so I was always ‘ready’. HA! ‘R’ had the last laugh because he succeeded in scaring me every Wednesday-my day at the center. He was at the center every single day for a couple of years and then we were able to finally get him into his own place. Blessed!
We have clients that we get to know pretty well and it’s amazing to see them react to the time and attention we give them. Not every day is a good day though. Gosh – we have had some pretty rough days with some of the clients but we are ALWAYS helping the clients that need us and we NEVER give up on them. The clients can be moody, depressed and angry but they know that tomorrow is a new day and they will get a fresh start with us. We don’t judge – something I was guilty of before I started at HOPE 4 Youth. We don’t hold grudges. We will always be there for them. As volunteers, we have amazing support from the case managers and staff. We are constantly learning from them. They are just as dedicated and compassionate as us! It’s a TEAM of people who care about young people and ending youth homelessness.
We have a board at the center that we write success stories on! ‘B’ got a job. “J and E found a place to live”. “L got a promotion”. “V started a savings account”. The list goes on and on! It’s extremely rewarding for the volunteers to see the clients become what we KNOW they can become. All they need is an ear, a helping hand, unconditional time and attention and PRAISE!!! We give them that at HOPE. We give them HOPE and love and understanding. They walk in homeless, depressed, angry and depleted. But SO MANY of them walk out with jobs, a new outlook on life, determination, housing, and a respect for adults who have never given up on them.
At the end of the day – every day – we send them out the door at 7 p.m. We can always SEE independence and goodness in them … we just do our best every day to make sure THEY can see it in themselves. HOPE 4 Youth has made us all better people. It’s a beautiful place to be.
Kim Mellem
HOPE 4 Youth Lead Mentor
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- HOPE Clinic has now been open for six weeks and anywhere from 1-5 youth have been seen each week depending on how long each appointment lasts. Livio staff have been extremely understanding of the needs of the youth. They have treated young people with colds to a young woman who had a severe wound that was not being taken care of properly and everything in between. We are hoping to eventually open the clinic two days a week, as the demand dictates.
- Goodrich Pharmacy has been amazing at delivering prescriptions each week in a timely manner. Without this service many of the youth probably wouldn’t fulfill their prescriptions due to lack of transportation.
- HOPE 4 Youth was lucky enough to receive a SHIP nutrition grant, which is the Statewide Health Improvement Program, through the Minnesota Department of Health. As part of this program, we will be installing an electronic bulletin board in the kitchen and begin sharing information on health and wellness topics. We hope this captures the attention of the young people we serve, to inform and educate them on the importance of healthy eating.
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- As we look to serve our youth holistically, HOPE 4 Youth is proud to be bringing a new program option to the Drop-In Center in 2017. TreeHouse, a Christian-based youth mentoring program, has a new TreeHouse Partner Network where organizations can pay a monthly fee to open their own TreeHouse. TreeHouse provides access to TreeSources, their online resource center, which provides training, ongoing coaching and curriculum and resources to use with hurting young people. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities coming with this exciting new program. Thank you to the March Family Foundation for providing the seed money to open HOPE TreeHouse.
- HOPE 4 Youth will be closed on Christmas Eve and Day (December 24 & 25) and New Years Eve and Day (December 31 and January 1) as they are on days (weekends) that the Drop-In Center is not open. We will celebrate the holidays with the youth prior to the actual days, please check out our community calendar for more information.
- The Donations Center will be closed on Saturday, December 31, for inventory. It will be open on Christmas Eve for normal hours, 9 a.m.-noon.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Paul Church
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Paul Church has been transforming the lives of young people experiencing homelessness since HOPE 4 Youth's doors opened in 2013. After the loss of his daughter, he wanted to "pay it forward" as she was working with autistic children. He was looking for some way to do this and found HOPE 4 Youth; it was meant to be. Every Tuesday and Thursday you'll find his friendly face at the Drop-In Center where he volunteers as a lead mentor.
"I have been privileged to watch the center grow from nothing to the great organization we are today," said Paul, "I am honored to work as a lead at HOPE 4 Youth and have been privileged to see youth make great strides in their lives." He also had words of wisdom to share with the youth, "It always starts with one small step forward and continues from there."
Paul- On behalf of the young people, volunteers and staff at HOPE 4 Youth, we thank you for your commitment to HOPE 4 Youth and are honored to have you as part of our family.
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Community Partner Spotlight: Power of 100 Twin Cities
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The Power of 100 Twin Cities is a group of "women who care" and meet four times a year to give back to charities in their communities. Before each meeting, members nominate charitable organizations and three charities are randomly selected from the fish bowl at the meeting. On Sept. 27, 2016, HOPE 4 Youth was randomly selected and our Executive Director, Lisa Jacobson, gave a 5-minute presentation. The members listen to all three presentations, ask questions and then vote for one charity to receive $100 from each member. HOPE 4 Youth was chosen that evening!
The Power of 100 presented a check for HOPE Place to Lisa Jacobson
, Executive Director & Power of 100 member. The total amount given was $26,156! This amount was matched by the Pohlad Family Foundation - $52,312. Way to go Power of 100 members! Your name will be outside of one of the apartments that a young person will call home at HOPE Place.
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Welcome Joyce Finch, Development Associate
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Please welcome Joyce Finch, our new Development Associate. Joyce jumped on board with HOPE 4 Youth quickly and dove head-first into her role!
She comes to us after being a volunteer mentor and falling in love with our mission and the youth. She will be focusing her attention on donor thank you letters, fundraising reports and mailings, as well as organizing the grant calendar.
We are excited to have her as part of the HOPE 4 Youth team!
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Upcoming Events
- Grocery Bagging
Saturday, Dec. 3, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Cub Foods at 125th and Central
Please volunteer to help Chain of Lakes raise money for HOPE 4 Youth by bagging groceries at Cub Foods. Please sign up today for a 2 hour shift! Email [email protected] if you can help.
- OK Factor
Sunday, Dec. 4, 4-5 p.m.
Chain of Lakes Church (10130 Davenport St. NE #160, in Blaine)
Join the OK Factor for an afternoon of Christmas music to kick-off your holiday season.Olivia and Karla will share their original arrangements of holiday favorites and will be selling their Christmas album, "Happy Holidays" at the show. Twenty-percent of the proceeds go to Hope 4 Youth! Tickets are $10 each, again, 20% goes to Hope 4 Youth, children get in free! Go to colpres.org for more information.
- HOPE Place Open House
Monday, Dec. 5, 2-6 p.m.; Ribbon Cutting at 4:15 p.m.
80 Coon Rapids Blvd. in Coon Rapids
Please join us before we bring the first homeless young people home and attend our HOPE Place Community Open House and Ribbon Cutting. This is your chance to see how HOPE 4 Youth is impacting youth homelessness right here in your own backyard.
- Shutterfly Fundraiser
Ongoing
Are you planning to order Holiday cards or photo presents for your loved ones? If you purchase these items on Shutterfly, using this link, HOPE 4 Youth will receive 13% of your purchase. Happy holiday shopping!
For more information about upcoming events hosted by HOPE 4 Youth, benefiting HOPE 4 Youth or bringing awareness to HOPE 4 Youth, click here.
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- Blaine High School students have done it again! They dropped off 2,369 pounds of food at our Donations Center on Nov. 5 that they collected during their annual "Scare Away Hunger" drive. Our new donations storage area is already overflowing! Thank you!
- Thank you to everyone who supported HOPE 4 Youth on Give to the Max Day 2016! Your generosity helped us raise nearly $13,000 including the $2,500 matching grant given by Financial One. The GiveMN.org servers once again experienced overload this year and donors continued to support us through their simple website and via HOPE4YouthMn.org. As a result, GIVEMN paid the processing fees that were charged during the overload.
- Chain of Lakes kicked off their season grand opening of Espresso Yourself on Nov. 12 with Danny Zanger and Missy Burch. Both put on a great show to raise funds and awareness for HOPE 4 Youth.
- We recently received $500 from the Catholic Relief Services(CRS) Rice Bowl Grant to continue our work addressing hunger and poverty at the Drop-In Center. Thank you CRS for your generosity.
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Every day, we see 30-40 young people (ages 23 and under) come through our Drop-In Center doors. We work hard to help these young people by providing them with their most basic needs such as: a nutritious meal, food from our food pantry, basic hygiene products, clothes from our clothing closets, a hot shower and laundry facilities.Then we help put them on a path to their future by securing housing, finding jobs, finishing school and accessing on-site health and wellness services.
When the doors of the Drop-In Center close, many of the youth find themselves couch-hopping or back on the streets. The only way to change this is to provide long-term housing solutions. We will soon open HOPE Place, the first transitional housing for youth in the north metro Twin Cities. Twelve young people at a time will have a place to call home while they develop the skills needed to leave their status of homelessness behind.
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Without our generous community, we would not be able to help the young people that we serve overcome the obstacles that they face so that they are no longer homeless.
There are many opportunities to help us meet their needs and donating items is one way of doing so. If you are able to donate items, please check out our
Top Needs as well as our
Amazon Wish List which provides budget relief.
While you're at it, why not get your network involved by holding a donation drive? You could ask for items on our Top Needs List and Amazon Wish List or bottled water. We even have a scavenger hunt on our website for kids to get in the fun! To learn more, contact our Donations Team at [email protected].
P.S. Don't forget to use Amazon Smile (select HOPE 4 Youth as your charity) when doing your Holiday shopping! By shopping Amazon Smile, a percentage of your total purchase is donated back to HOPE 4 Youth.
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Staff
Lisa Jacobson, Executive Director
Joyce Finch, Development Associate
Cheri Halek, Community Engagement Manager
Sara Kemp,
Director of Programs & Properties
Jane Schipper, Finance Manager
Kristin VanHeel, Marketing & Comm. Director
Naomi M., Case Manager
Eddie R., Case Manager
Barb Justbarb
, Receptionist
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Board of Directors
Brian Swanson, Chairman,
Vice President of Quality and Enterprise Excellence at NACS, Inc.
Bridget Barr, Business Analytics Specialist at Meritain Health and Aetna Company
Paul Ekstrom, President at The Paul Ekstrom Realty Team (Keller Williams Classic Realty)
Na'im Madyun, Associate Dean of Undergraduate and Diversity Programs at University of Minnesota
Sarah Nohner, Financial Controller at
Graco
Paula Rak, Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo
Jerry Streich, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director for City of Andover
James Stuart, Anoka County Sheriff
John Sitarz, Senior Financial Services Rep. at Principal Financial Group
Anita Tuch,
Vice President of Operations at Medtronic Neuromodulation, PLC
Susan VanVoorhis,
Assoc. Vice President & Univ. Reg. at University of Minnesota
Katherine Wagoner, Di
rector of Membership Engagement at Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
Sue Woodard, President and CEO at Vantage Production
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763.323.2066
2665 4th Avenue North | Suite 40
Anoka, Minnesota 55303
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