Homeless youth need options for shelter

This past week, I answered the phone at MY House after returning from getting the tires on our street outreach van changed over to studded tires. A young man wanted to know if we were a shelter. He had left his house that morning at 3 a.m. due to a flare-up between he and his mother. According to him, she was going crazy and he said it was due to her alcohol and drug use. He did not feel safe there and was seeking a safe place.

Unfortunately, I informed him there was not an emergency shelter in the Valley. I told him I could come pick him up, if he was over 18, and provide transportation to Covenant House in Anchorage. Michelle Overstreet, the MY House president, was planning to drive into Anchorage and attend the State Conference on Homelessness.

Nolan (not his real name) had come from Tennessee to reunite with his mother. Obviously, that did not work out the way he had planned. He did not know where he was calling from, so I asked him to hand the phone to the clerk. She told me the location.

I picked him. He was in a T-shirt with no luggage or even backpack. He said he did not have time to grab anything. After getting back to MY House, I told him to pick out a long-sleeved shirt, coat and stocking hat. At least he was wearing boots. I suggested he grab a shower to warm up, pick out a backpack with some clean, dry socks and underwear. He declined. He said he was fine. And then, he fell asleep on the couch.

I handed him over to Michelle. She woke him up. They climbed into the warm van. He was going to be safe. Besides that, which is crucial, he would see a case manager at Covenant House to begin the process of reclaiming his broken life. And that night, hopefully he would go to sleep safe, on a full stomach, clean, checked out by a nurse and maybe with a few items he could call his own.

That is the second time since MY House has opened that I have been personally involved in picking up a youth and sending them into Anchorage. Both incidences happened in the early hours of morning due to a family in crisis that had spilled over from the night before.

However, the first incident turned out quite differently. Joey, (not his real name) was almost 18 and Office of Children Services was very aware of his case. His parents were informed. Yet, after getting into Anchorage and checking out Covenant House, he did not want anything to do with it. So, we informed his parents. He wanted to return to the Valley and stay with a friend. His parents agreed to that arrangement. His reason for not staying was simply, “The city is not the place for me!”

These two first-hand experiences convince me that beside the need for our own crisis center and shelter, we need to provide other options. Maybe Joey would have felt more comfortable in a host home (a family volunteering to have homeless youth in their home)? Yet, Nolan seemed very comfortable walking right in the door of Covenant House and checking in.

Whatever their reason for wanting, or not, to opt into a particular emergency housing option, I believe it is directly related to their personal experiences. And how could we argue with that? Again, I believe emergency housing options should be client-driven, with the individual youth having a stake in the decision.

First and foremost, we need to remember their world, as Nolan described it, was turned upside down and crazy. They have lost, in many cases by no fault of their own, their primary care givers. They could very well be in shock. No wonder they may be leery of the very people offering to help. They have experienced issues of abuse and neglect that most of us could not even comprehend.

Their road to self-sufficiency, being healthy and contributing members of our community begins with re-establishing those lost vital relationships. This happens with a caring, nonjudgmental and supportive staff and community. If you believe you can provide these essential principles and want to make a difference in the lives of our homeless youth, please contact MY House. You can call 373-4357 or come in to fill out a volunteer application.

If you are not able to help in a volunteer capacity, you could consider making a monetary donation, and one that currently will be matched. We have been offered a $25,000 matching gift. This will allow us to continue providing vital, daily services in the form of a “hand up” and to “flip their script” to begin that road to self-sufficiency.

We are planning to continue our first of the month Thursday meetings at 4 p.m., Nov. 7 at the Gathering Place, 300 N. Willow St., Wasilla. All are welcome to join the good fight.

Also, besides not having a crisis center or shelter, we do not have a host home program. That program would have to be licensed, staffed and have families willing to provide that service.

Michael P. Carson is vice president of MY House.