Mr. Gonzales Has the Right Formula for Volunteering

By Susan Blalock

Alternative House is proud to announce that Jose Gonzales who is a volunteer at our Culmore Teen Center was nominated and won a volunteer award. He was awarded the Norbert Grabowski Founder’s Award by the Optimists Club of Central Fairfax on Tuesday, June 23, 2010.

Mr. Gonzales first began to come to Alternative House’s drop-in Teen Center in Falls Church to pick up his daughter who was employed as one of our Youth Workers. While waiting for his daughter to complete her work, he noticed that many of the teens in the program were working on homework and that some were really struggling with their math assignments. He took it upon himself to speak with the staff to see if the teens could use a tutor for their work. It has been very difficult for us to get tutors, especially in math, for this program and the staff were so happy that Mr. Gonzales was willing to help out. He has now been coming to the Teen Center on a weekly basis to help teens with their Algebra and Geometry work for about seven months. During this time, Mr. Gonzales’ relationship with the teens has changed from being just a tutor to also being a mentor and a role model. As the teens learned more about him, they really came to respect and look up to him. Mr. Gonzales immigrated to the United States from Peru when he was young and struggled to learn English, assimilate into the American culture, and despite his own personal economic struggles he continued to pursue his education. Many of the youth at the Teen Center struggle with these same issues and Mr. Gonzales has been a source of hope and inspiration for them. In addition to making a difference for these young people academically and on a personal level, Mr. Gonzales serves as a positive role model to the teens by giving back to his community. As a construction worker Mr. Gonzales has the opportunity to work additional hours to support his family, but he has made sure to leave his schedule open on Wednesday afternoons so that he can work with the teens. A perfect example of the respect that the teens have for Mr. Gonzales occurred about a week ago, Mr. Gonzales arrived at the Teen Center to work with one particular teen and the young man did not have his school materials. He said that he had forgotten about tutoring and would run home to get his books. As soon as the teen left, the staff thought that he would not return and that he had used forgetting his books as an excuse to get out of tutoring. A few minutes later, the teen returned to the Teen Center with all of his school materials and worked with Mr. Gonzales for a couple of hours. Many of the teens have seen that working with Mr. Gonzales helps them with their school work and jump at the chance to get math help from him. For many of these teens, there is no one at home who can help them with their school work so working with Mr. Gonzales prevents them from getting frustrated and lost in their school work which has helped some teens bring up their grades. Not only has Mr. Gonzales inspired some of the teens to do better and given them the tools they need to succeed, but he has also helped youth stay in school. The youth that the Teen Center serves all come from low-income families that struggle financially even during good economic times. Some of these teens have been put in a position where their families want them to leave school in order to get jobs to financially help support the family. Mr. Gonzales has worked with a couple of these teens to help them find a good compromise that will allow them to stay in school and work outside of school to help the finances of their family.

Congratulations Mr. Gonzales and thank you for all of your hard work to help the youth in our program.

Our Programs Support Teens by Meghan Huebner

One of the great things about Alternative House is the variety of programs that we run. This allows us to serve youth and families in multiple ways, and this past month we were able to assist one teen in particular through multiple programs.

“Miranda” came to our teen crisis shelter after leaving her guardian’s home due to alleged physical abuse. A senior in high school, she was weeks away from graduation when she had to leave her home. Miranda had been staying with several friends prior to coming to Alternative House, but this was not a permanent solution. She came into our teen shelter, where she stayed for almost a week while working part-time and attending school. This time was used to find appropriate, stable, longer-term housing for Miranda, who then moved into our HYI program for homeless youth trying to graduate from Fairfax County Public Schools.

Miranda was able to use her time in both programs to maintain her attendance at school and work, and to have a stable living space until graduation. Miranda’s long-term plan is to join the armed forces, where she has already been accepted. During her time at HYI, she was able to reunite with family members and will join them for a permanent living situation after graduation.

We Rocked the House by Gina Cocomello

On June 13 Alternative House hosted our 14th Annual Rock the House 8K Race. We have been working for months to get ready for this event. On race morning the weather was hot and muggy but no thunderstorms. The morning starts early I arrived before 6:00am bringing in supplies and setting up registration. Soon volunteers started arriving. We needed to get ready for the runners. Over 50 volunteers turned out to support this event. Volunteers registered the runners, handed out T-shirts and bibs. They were stationed on the route as course marshals to cheer the runners on and to serve water. Two volunteers were out on bikes riding the route to help organize the volunteers and watch for the runners. We wanted everyone in place before the race started. Almost 300 runners registered for the race. The runners were getting ready, stretching, doing short sprints, and pinning on their bibs. There was a group stretch and warm up. The DJ was playing Bruce Springsteen songs right before the start. The runners were lining up. We even had a few runners with jogging strollers lined up in the back of the pack. Then they were off. While they were gone we got ready for their return opening cases of bottled water and sports drinks, cutting up fruit and organizing the prizes. It didn’t seem like very long before the first runners were crossing the finish line. One or two at first then more and more, as they crossed the finish line there was lots of cheering, finally the last runner, more stretching and lots of water. Prizes were awarded for best in category and even random prizes so everyone had a chance to win something.

The Rock the House 8K Race is our largest fundraising event of the year. We couldn’t do it without the support from our sponsors, Board, volunteers, staff and runners. I personally want to thank everyone involved in this event. The proceeds from this race go to support our programs and services for homeless and at-risk youth and teens. Thank you.

Thank you for your Service by Gina Cocomello

Always remember to give back to the community where you live, work and play. Think about what your community would be like if people didn’t share their time, talent, skills and good fortune. Last year at Alternative House we had over 10,000 volunteer hours given to us by people in the community who want to make a difference in the life of a homeless or at-risk youth or teen.

These volunteers were mentors to young mothers trying to find a path to self-sufficiency, answered Hot Line calls for teens in crisis, helped a middle school student with homework and watched as a toddler took her first steps. Alternative House volunteers spent hundreds of hours painting, cooking, doing yard work, collecting donations and stuffing envelopes. Every one of these people helped our clients stay in school, build self-esteem, develop new skills and move forward to becoming productive members of our community. On behalf of the Alternative House staff and clients I would like to say thank you for your service.

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.

Assisting Young Mothers

By Meghan Huebner

Working with young mothers in our Assisting Young Mothers program (AYM) for the past four years has truly been a rewarding experience. Being able to work with a family long-term, and see them change before your eyes, is often exciting for staff and residents alike. There have been many wonderful achievements by AYM residents that I have been fortunate enough to witness: high school graduations, earning driver’s licenses, passing certificate courses, obtaining a GED, and much more. The children also achieve many milestones while in our program: first words, first steps, first day at school, and other causes for celebration.

Many times, it’s not the major accomplishments that are the most important. For many residents, it’s the small things that living in a stable household can create that are the most important, and have the most impact. As one resident recently told me when we were talking about her achievements after a year in the program,

Since coming to live at AYM, I have been able to establish a routine for my son, and he is secure with it. He is going to his babysitter and he knows when I am busy that he has to do his own thing. He knows that things will be the same each day and he can rely on me when things are routine.

Her perspective of her accomplishments was completely different than the achievements that I think of when I consider her time at AYM: holding a full-time job for over a year, obtaining her learner’s permit and driver’s license, beginning to enroll in college classes, living in our most independent townhouse and more. At AYM, I am constantly reminded of the importance of looking at both the very big and the very small pictures: everything from buying a car down to a child’s smile.

A Tug at My Heart by Debi Jo Wheatley

My first glimpse of the Alternative House shelter was attending an Open Door at the House event to learn more about the organization. What struck me most is how hard everyone has to work to keep the place together for the teens. They are in constant need of new bedding for incoming teens, walls need to be repaired and painted, plumbing and a roof may need to be replaced. What could I do to help make the place just a little brighter?
As part of my design work, I also paint and thought maybe I could bring some brightness to the shelter. The brightness was brought to me. As I painted in the kitchen and day room, the kids who were in attendance were so welcoming even in the midst of their problems----problems that they shouldn’t have to face at their young age.
One young lady in particular tugged at my heart. I was finishing some work on a piece that I had started, and she was in the day room on the phone talking with a family member. When she got off, she came my way to see what I was doing. When I engaged her in conversation she harshly stated that she’d been in the system a long time and just wanted to have a steady place to live. The more we sat and spoke, the hard shell cracked open, and she was a fun, vibrant 14 year old, ready to learn what her future might bring.
When she went upstairs to do her homework, she asked me to please let her know when I was leaving so that I could say goodbye to her. It made me realize that there were probably many times in her life that someone left without a goodbye. So, I made sure to say goodbye. I told my husband about this encounter with tears.
Since then, I was asked to serve on the board of directors for Alternative House, a very proud moment for me. Teens have so many issues facing them these days, and to confront homelessness or futility in their daily lives shouldn’t be one of them. What Alternative House brings to these kids is a chance that they might otherwise not have either through the Emergency Shelter for Teens, the Assisting Young Mothers program or the Culmore Teen Center.
I know I will be a proud supporter of Alternative House for a very long time.