A home away from home

A few weeks ago, several of my co-workers and I piled into a van with two Center for Youth employees. I wasn’t paying much attention to where we were going - I had been down the street many times. I was shocked when we pulled into the driveway and they announced we where there. Nestled in a beautiful neighborhood is what looks to be a typical house, but it’s actually shelter for runaway teens run by The Center for Youth.

The shelter helps kids ages 12-18 that are dealing with problems at home like abuse or drug issues. On any given day there are usually are 6 girls and 6 boys living there. Most stay about two weeks, and during their stay they work with counselors to build self-esteem and life skills. The staff also encourages a family setting - they prepare meals together, eat together, and do group activities. The ultimate goal is to reunite the younger teens with family. The older teens usually become independent.

Your support of United Way’s Community Fund supports the counseling programs and also the runaway and homeless youth services. The counseling programs focus on helping the teens grow an individual. They focus on enhancing internal and external strengths and decreasing high risk behaviors like substance abuse and school suspensions. Center for Youth only has one homeless shelter. They also have two apartment buildings that are used for the transitional living program, which most of the older teens go to after the shelter.

The Center for Youth shelter helped more than 260 teens last year. What surprised me the most is that over half of the teens came from the suburbs.

Thanks to your support of United Way, no matter where they live or what kind of problems they are experiencing, there is a safe place they can go for help and get back on track.

The turtle and United Way

On my drive into work this morning, I realized - just ahead of me - there was a turtle trying to cross the road.

Naturally, I stopped the car. As I watched him slowly progress across my lane, I had concerns that the other drivers may not be as patient, and he'd fall victim.

Sure enough, a few did, and started zipping around him.

In today's world, I understand the role 'instantaneous' plays in everything we do. We want things right away, no time to wait.

Take my kids, for example. One is in preschool, the other in kindergarten. As much as I try to explain it, both of them can't understand what live radio or television are. It's inconvceivable to them, at times, that you can't pause every television show, or replay a song whenever it's desired.

I worry how they'll handle life on its own terms. Sure, it's easy to be in control with iPods and TiVo - but the real world doesn't work that way.

As I watched the turtle cross the road, it reminded me of community change.

The real, meaningful change that we all want - and the kind we focus on here at United Way - doesn't happen overnight. Not in a week. Or a month. Or a year.

It takes a long time. One second, one moment, one person at a time.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?

With perserverance and patience, we can get to the other side of the road.