Goal: To get at-risk kids through high school. Imagine for a moment that you are a homeless 16-year-old high school student. Your teachers urge you to stay in school. But it’s hard when you have no safe place to sleep, no place to study, no clean clothes, no place to shower, no adult guidance. And all around you is a chorus of whispers urging you to drop out. The outlook is bleak for those who do: Unemancipated homeless teens have few public resources, private assistance or housing options available to them. High school dropouts are six times more likely to end up in prison and three times more likely to be unemployed than those who graduate. Project update March 2017
THE PROBLEM:
On any given night in Eugene/Springfield about 400 homeless high school students struggle to find a place to sleep. Many end up on the streets, where they are vulnerable to violence, drugs and a thriving human-trafficking trade along the I-5 corridor.
THE SOLUTION:
We are seeking funding to purchase and remodel the former church at 3350 Willamette St. in Eugene into youth housing. The building will house 14 homeless high school students, ages 16 through 18, rent-free for up to two years with the key requirement that they remain in school.
THE AIM:
To provide homeless high school students with the secure housing and social services they need to graduate and to enhance their chances of becoming successful and productive citizens.
PARTNERS:
SVDP is partnering with Eugene, Bethel and Springfield school districts and with Hosea Youth Services, a local nonprofit with two decades of experience providing services to improve the lives of homeless youth.
WITH YOUR SUPPORT:
We can give our community’s homeless youth a fair shot at achieving a bright future.