Keeping Young People Safe

by Judith Dittman

As I am writing this, we have nine young people in our Shelter and two waiting to come in. We're only supposed to have eight youth in the house at once, but there is nowhere else for these young people to go. We have eight formerly homeless young mothers and their children in the Assisting Young Mothers program and a long waiting list. So far this year we've helped 50 high school students who are homeless and don't have the support of a parent or guardian. Last year there were 109 young people in this position, so far this year there are 180. And our community based programs are distributing more food and clothing than we ever have -- up 50% from last year. Thank you for your help in keeping these young people safe.