One of the things I am most passionate about is working with and helping at-risk teens.
By definition, at-risk means that a teen is at-risk for not graduating. But any of us who have had the pleasure of getting to know these kids know it means so much more than that- they are at-risk of getting kicked out of their house, at-risk of being bullied, at-risk of going a day without food, at-risk of being exposed to substance abuse, and at-risk of physical and sexual abuse. The list goes on. In other words, these are the kids who need some extra TLC and need to be shown their full potential. As I’ve said in a previous blog post, working with them is the most rewarding job there is next to being a parent. Those of us who worked with them often say we have our children and we have our ‘kids.’ These are our kids.
I couldn’t start a new venture without being connected to this community, so I have paired with The Bridge for Youth foundation and with every purchase of Home, I will be donating a portion of the sales to them. I cannot rave about this organization enough. They provide a safe space for teens and help them in every step necessary to better their life going forward, from providing hot meals to counseling and health services.
“The Bridge for Youth’s mission is to provide runaway and homeless youth safe shelter, assist in the prevention and resolution of family conflicts and reunify families whenever possible. The Bridge for Youth was founded in 1970 when Sister Rita Steinhagen saw a problem, cared, and responded. She noticed a growing number of unaccompanied youth on the streets of Minneapolis who were increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, prostitution, violence, and illness.”
To date, The Bridge for Youth has served nearly 40,000 teens during crisis. They are currently working on providing transitional housing for their young adults to help them live independently while they work and pay toward a more attainable rent. I can’t wait to see this come to fruition.
Know that each of you who purchase Home are helping to make a difference.