Thankful Mom Praises YES
When her son, Gabe, encountered a bit of trouble last year that took him away from the family home, Melina didn’t have many options to keep him safe and off the streets.
While she admits to not being familiar with Youth Emergency Services at the time, she quickly learned about YES’ Emergency Shelter and was
able to get him safely housed.
YES turned out to be the Godsend that she and her family needed – and needless to say, she’s incredibly grateful.
“I’m convinced that without YES, he would have ended up on the streets
or somewhere else unsafe,” said Greger, a loan officer with Veridian Credit Union who emigrated from Puerto Rico to the United States
several years ago.
“Gabe had been at Boys Town in the past and struggles with ADHD, but when he takes his meds, he is an amazing young man. When he doesn’t,
he makes bad choices.”
Due to legal matters earlier this spring, Gabe couldn’t live at his parent’s home and had nowhere to stay. Not quite 18 at the time, he didn’t have a
job and he wasn’t able to get his own apartment.
Because no other family lives in the area, he would have had to move into
an adult shelter or make other arrangements.
Suffice it to say, Melina was beside herself with worry about what might happen to Gabe, but found extreme comfort when Gabe found extended refuge at YES’ shelter.
He was able to gain employment with UPS but was unable to find
long-term housing and eventually decided to move to North Carolina
last fall to live with his sister.
“His time at YES helped him in so many ways, and I am so thankful for that,” Melina said. “He’s had trouble making friends in the past and has
had low self-esteem, but his experience at YES helped him gain friends, employment and so many other things.”
Gabe has future aspirations of being an electrician, so upon his return to
the area before Christmas last year, he began working toward securing housing, pursuing that career path and setting his wheels in motion for a bright future.
Melina thought so highly of YES and the services Gabe received that she nominated the organization last fall to be among the five nonprofits chosen for Veridian Credit Union’s 2021 Spark the Spirit Giving Campaign.
Each of the five nominees were given two weeks to garner the most votes, with the top vote-getter awarded $5,000, second $2,500, third $1,000
and fourth and fifth getting $500 each.
YES finished with the second-most votes to win $2,500 to go toward
Needless to say, it’s a burgeoning relationship – YES, Veridian and
Melina – that YES definitely wants to maintain moving forward,
especially if that means being able to provide further services and
support to Gabe and Melina in the future.
“YES will always be part of my charitable giving moving forward, and I
will be looking for ways to give back and help because they helped us at
a time when we absolutely needed help,” Melina said. “I can’t express
how grateful we are for YES.”
