Greetings!
Welcome to the Winter 2019 issue of our e-newsletter!
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Keep reading to learn how New Beginnings is working to empower youth voices, fight hunger, raise awareness about youth homelessness, and reconnect with alumni.
You will also read about how one youth never gave up on her dreams in spite of the many challenges she faced.
Thank you for helping New Beginnings give youth at risk of homelessness opportunities for the
safety
,
connections
, and
growth
that they need to thrive.
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She Followed Her Dreams In Spite of Hardships
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Can you imagine being uprooted from everything you’ve ever known, moved halfway across the world, and abandoned at the age of 15?
Beatriz* was only 13 when she moved with her father to Maine from West Africa. She enrolled in school after she arrived and spoke very little English. In time her English improved. By 15, she began to feel at home in Maine.
Around this same time, her father traveled back to Africa to visit family and left Beatriz in the care of a friend. Months passed and her father remained in Africa. Her temporary caregiver became abusive which ultimately landed Beatriz in the emergency room, at which time DHHS took custody.
After two years and multiple failed foster care placements, DHHS placed Beatriz in the care of New Beginnings’ Shelter. At first, she struggled to make progress toward the goals she established with shelter staff. She felt defeated by her lack of success and connection in her foster homes.
During her stay at the shelter, Beatriz told staff that she would never return to a foster care placement and threatened to run away if DHHS placed her again. Though staff wanted to support and keep Beatriz safe, it was clear that she was not yet ready to live independently.
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*Youth's name changed to protect confidentiality.
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New Beginnings began the process of creating a statewide Youth Action Board (YAB) in 2017 and will fully implement the YAB over the next 18-months thanks to funding from the John T. Gorman Foundation. The primary goal of bringing the YAB to full scale is to improve the lives of vulnerable youth in Maine by ensuring that young people with lived experience dealing with the homeless, juvenile justice, behavioral health, and child welfare systems have their voices heard and can positively impact policy and service delivery.
New Beginnings is serving as the lead agency on this project and will provide support and resources to the YAB. Chris Bicknell, New Beginnings Executive Director is serving as the project leader for this 18-month project. In this role, he will engage statewide systems of care at the highest levels to create a platform for YAB members to be heard. Chris explains, “We are seeking a paradigm shift in youth engagement in Maine to reshape cross-sector policies and practices that affect system-involved youth in the state. We believe that a functioning YAB in Maine will create policy that is successful and informed by youths’ lived experience, ultimately improving the lives of vulnerable youth so that they can successfully transition to adulthood.”
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Click here
for agency news briefs about our annual fund campaign, staff promotions and new hires, annual meeting announcement, volunteer opportunities at New Beginnings, along with an announcement about reconnecting with alumni.
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100% of youth who visit our Drop-In Center are food insecure. Historically, to address youth hunger center staff have been serving hot meals two nights a week; making snacks and other food available for youth while in Drop-In, and were providing transportation weekly to other local soup kitchens and food pantries.
Participation in these off-site services was limited to only 2 – 4 youth per week due to factors like seats available in our van and scheduling conflicts. And even on-site services were being underutilized by youth who couldn’t be in the space when meals were being served.
Through conversations with youth, it became clear that more on-site meals and a take-home-food program were the best paths forward to expanding support for the varying needs of youth who frequent the Drop-In space and those staff encounter doing street outreach.
In 2019 the Outreach Program has dramatically expanded food services. We began serving lunch 5-days a week and launched a weekly Mobile Food Pantry program—
a first of its kind in the nation among Federally-funded Street Outreach Programs.
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New Beginnings is Looking to Connect with Alumni
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No one can better describe how New Beginnings can help young people than someone who has utilized New Beginnings themselves. Your personal stories and experiences can help potential and current youth as well as interested members of the community to better understand how New Beginnings helped you face challenges and successes in your life.
If you are interested in reconnecting, sharing your stories, or joining us for alumni events please contact Amber Kruk by calling (207) 795-4077 or email
amber@newbeginmaine.org
.
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As part of National Runaway and Homeless Youth Prevention Month, this past November, New Beginnings and
L/A Arts
co-hosted an exhibition of artist Ned Castle’s
HIGH
LOW Project exhibited at L/A Arts gallery space in downtown Lewiston.
The
HIGH
LOW Project originated as a collaboration between the artist and youth served by the
Vermont Coalition of Runaway Homeless Youth
programs (VCRHYP). Castle worked directly with the youth to create large-format photographs depicting re-enactments of high and low moments in each youth’s life. Audio of the youth telling their stories accompany the photographs and explain each situation’s significance.
Remarking on the stories, local photographer and New Beginnings' supporter Rene Roy of
Rene Roy Photography
says, “The collection of stories points to how fast things can get out of hand for a young person struggling against adversity. Without a support system in place life can become unmanageable quickly. It’s very sad to think that these experiences are being shared by youth in our communities; having to sleep in the bushes or in a car in the winter time. It’s terrible that this is their reality.”
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To our 2018 in-kind and Holiday Drive donors. Your donations of holiday gifts, household goods, food, hygiene items, socks, gift cards, services, & more have made a huge difference for New Beginnings youth over the past year.
Thank you
— we couldn’t do all we do without you!
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Serving runaway and homeless youth and their families since 1980.
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New Beginnings is funded in part by the State of Maine and US Departments of Health and Human Services,
Family and Youth Services Bureau, Housing & Urban Development, and United Way.
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