findiit.org

Ok, so I joined a great, but largely under-funded organization in San Diego, called Stand Up For Kids where I will be an in-center Counselor to homeless teens and young adults.  A daytime shelter that offers these kids a change of clothes, some food and access to legal representation, computers and just some good old fashioned TV, enabling them for just a few moments to forget their situation.   While the center is open daily from 4-8pm, there are more volunteers needed to expand their hours on some evenings, so that these kids can be out of the cold and off of the streets.  My goal in the organization is to rapidly become supervisor and begin a shift once a week that keeps the center open for an additional 4-5 hours.  It takes 4 volunteers for them to commit to this.  I have only two right now.  Although I have high hopes in reaching and maintaining my goal, I desire to see more people in our community come to understand the organization.  Bryan and I have yet to talk about this, but I will be asking him to participate in a 2% donation of all monies from our website.  My home and office cleaning company will also maintain this donation, although a slightly higher one, which will benefit the center in a few ways, the most important one being providing of blankets for these homeless teens and young adults. 

These are mostly kids that come from broken homes, alcoholic or drug addicted parents or some other emotionally crippling event that the child goes through.  Choosing to be homeless, rather than face returning home is a decision these kids did not make over night, nor do they take them lightly.  Getting off the streets is much more difficult and is only done through great care and the encouragement of their peers.  But their peers want them to be homeless with them, so they are not alone themselves. 

At the center, we are just a care facility for their emotional being for a few moments a day, for those who choose to seek the assistance they offer.  If is often difficult for these kids to make the decision to return home, often because of an addiction they picked up while homeless, or the percieved punishment if they return home.  Some of these homeless teens even become pregnant, making the situation ever more dangerious.  Please check out their website and if you can commit to one night a week, to help these children, then please do.  Thanks!

http://www.standupforkids.org/

I plan on using the tools and the people I know to give the best kind of aide to this program.  I plan on asking my customers to dig deep for this program and all they can offer.  I appreciate any donations of money and items.  Checks to: STAND UP FOR KIDS and items can be sent to:

Jack Rankin
c/o Findiit/TKIC
4203 Genesee Avenue, #103-211
San Diego, Ca 92117

 A NOTE FROM STAND UP FOR KIDS:

Despite what you might have heard on various talk shows. Kids don’t want to live on the streets! Yet, they tell you that living on the streets is fun and exciting. That they have no responsibilities! That they want to live on the streets! These statements are easier to say than to be honest and say “I’m here because NO ONE wants me. Not even my family!” Who wants to admit this?What if I asked you if you want me to hit you TEN times or FIVE times. You’d probably say five times. Does that mean that you want to be hit five times? NO! It simply means that you DON’T want to be hit ten times.

Likewise, kids don’t want to be on the streets. But, they don’t want to be home where, in most cases, it is worse!

“Actually, saying that kids live on the streets is a blatant lie!” “Kids do not live on the streets.” “Kids are dying on the streets!” So the challenge for the outreach and apartment support counselors is tremendous! They are the first ones to convince the kids that we care. At first, the kids will suspect that you want something from them, like everyone else does. You will have to help them overcome that!

Apartment support counselors work closely with the outreach counselors, in their initial support to the kids, as they come off the streets.

For most of their lives they’ve been used and abused by adults. Trusting you, a stranger, will not be in their nature and won’t come easy for them. But, when they do start sharing and trusting in you, it is the greatest feeling you will ever know.

The apartment support counselors must take even greater steps in teaching these young people social skills; how to get along and live in their community. They will no longer be surviving, but living. We need to teach them how to let go of their survival skills and how to begin to let their defenses down. We need to help them learn how to interact with their neighbors and others in the community. Counselors need to help them become familiar with the other agencies in the community and teach them how to reach out to those agencies for assistance.

Depending on how young they were when they arrived on the streets, they may not even have the basic skills to take care of themselves. They may not know how to cook, clean up, store leftovers, and the many other everyday things that go on in an apartment. Things we take for granted or that simply come second nature for us, they may not have a clue about. They may also be embarrassed to admit that they don’t know how to do these basic things, so it’s up to us to let them know that it’s okay and we understand.

We can get there from here. It’s just going to take a lot longer than anyone expected.