Safety Net for Youth Blog - 5 Recent Posts

Safe Place Success Story :

Today\'s success story comes from Family Connections, Inc., Franklin, IN A male youth at the local school had always been an A/B student, was on the basketball team, and well liked by his peers. The youth had always gotten along with his father as well until this last year. He had begun to struggle in school and had just quit the soccer team after getting into a fight with another player. Teachers had begun to complain about his behavior in class over the last couple weeks. The school counselor had called the youth into his office to find out what was going on. It was then that the counselor learned that he was no longer living at home. The youth had ran away from home and had been staying with various friends ever since. This had been going on for two weeks. Fortunately, the counselor was well aware of the Safe Place program at Family Connection and placed a call to Family Connection for help. After talking with the male youth about the program, he agreed to come to Family Connection for a safe place to stay rather than staying with friends. Also, the counselor contacted his father to help make arrangements for them to come to Family Connection together that afternoon. At first, the youth refused to talk about his story. All he would say was that he got into an argument with his father and left. After a few days, he started to trust the staff and decided to share his side of the story. It turned out that he had run away from home after having an argument with his father. In the past year, the arguments with his father had increased due to his declining grades. The youth also said that his father had stopped trusting him after he found out that he would skip soccer practice to hang out with his girlfriend of whom the father strongly disapproved. As his grades continued to slide and as he continued to find ways to see his girlfriend, his father became increasingly stricter and would not allow him to do what he wanted. Soon, he found his grades declining, soccer gone, and his relationship with his father destroyed.Then, one weekend, the youth and his father had a huge argument in which both of them started yelling, and the young man made the claim that he hated his dad and he no longer wanted his father to be his father. At that, his father said, "Fine, then leave; this is no longer your home." While the youth was working with the staff at Family Connection, the staff was also working with his father who also regretted the words he said. The father just wanted help and thought his son would eventually come home and regret those words. However, his father desperately wanted him back at home and wanted to get some help for their relationship. One of the counselor\'s at Family Connection met with the father and son on a regular basis to try to help them work through some of the issues they had as a family. While it took a couple weeks, both of them were able to apologize for their words and were able to begin to talk about the real issues that were going on in each of their lives. After spending three weeks at Family Connection, the youth and his father were ready to return home and resume their lives together. While there were still some issues, the father and son continued in counseling together to work through some of those issues.However, both of them were equipped with the skills to try to better deal with conflict and their anger. The youth was also able to see why his father was so hard on him about his grades. He was able to improve his grades by the end of the year and show his previous commitment to school. He also decided to sign up for basketball this coming year, as it was one of his passions in life. 2010-03-09 08:26:18 Chrissy Marzano

Safe Place Success Story :

National Safe Place Week is March 14-20, 2010, today\'s success story comes from Omaha, NE Youth Emergency Services, Omaha, NE, A male youth called the Safe Place hotline on December 30, 2008. His mother and step-father had not been able to accept his lifestyle and had forbidden him to return home. He couch surfed from relatives to friends for several weeks. The day he called the SP hotline, he said he had decided he had had enough and wanted to change his life. He was tired of not having a "home". Staff picked him up and talked to him about the Emergency Shelter and Transitional Living programs that Y.E.S. offered. He was thrilled to have the possibility of somewhere he could call home. He was brought to the YES Shelter and was provided with a safe place to stay and begin his new life. He found out he was eligible for a scholarship and was able to begin college, learning the skills to become a beautician. He has since, moved into the YES Transitional Living Program, where he continues to go to school, and work part-time. He tells the staff often how grateful he is that he decided to make the phone call that day. 2010-03-05 09:37:51 Chrissy Marzano

Safe Place Success Story :

In honor of National Safe Place Week, March 14-20, 2010, here is our next success story from Noblesville, IN: Promising Futures of Central Indiana, Noblesville, IN On Jan 5th, a call was received at Hamilton Centers Youth Service Bureau (a Safe Place site) stating that a 17 year old male child was going to be homeless. He would be homeless because his mother was in a Nursing Home/Rehab Facility due to an illness that resulted in a medically necessary surgery and extensive recovery. Because she was in a nursing home, her 3 children had no place to go. Of the 3 children, (17, 16, & 10) 1 was placed with family & another with a social service agency; however, the 17 year old child was having difficulties being placed. This is where HCYSB Safe Place & Host Home Coordinator began action and made several calls to volunteers and was able to find a placement for him. During his placement with the volunteer family, it was imperative that permanent placement for the client be found because it was uncertain if or when his mother would recover and leave the nursing home/rehab facility rendering him homeless after the brief stay with the volunteer family. There was only one possibility for this youth to get his life on track and a stable living arrangement. So a call was made to the only possibility, a Transitional Living Program in Indianapolis, IN, and an appointment was scheduled to complete the client in-person interview. Both the client and coordinator went over both personal and professional interview-like questions of things that may be difficult for him to articulate. With this preparation, the client interviewed well and was accepted into the program. We were both excited because this is giving him the chance to become the teacher he wants to become and a self-esteem boost. He has taken the SAT Exam, secured a job, and appears to be on the right path. He has been very gracious for the services that were extended to him through HCYSB Safe Place & Host Home Coordinator. 2010-03-03 08:23:57 Chrissy Marzano

Safe Place Success Story :

National Safe Place Week is March 14-20, 2010. To show our appreciation to all of our amazing agencies and Safe Place sites acorss the United States we would like share their success stories to provide a reminder of why we do what we do everyday. ACH Child & Family Services, Ft. Worth, TX A high school counselor brought two teenage sisters to a QuikTrip before the end of the school day. They reported that their parents were severely beating them. These girls, ages 16 and 15, had bruises and welts covering their bodies. They stated that they had been hit with belts, boxing gloves, extension cords and blind switches the night before. Their parents accused them of stealing a camera and did not believe them when they denied it.The girls both said that they and their siblings had been hurt by their parents several times in the past, but were afraid to tell anyone. They said that, in the past, asking for help with what was going on at home only made things worse for them later. A counselor transported the girls to the shelter and made a report to Child Protective Services. A CPS worker came out the next day and decided to take custody of the two girls and their five sisters. At the last report given, all the siblings were going to two different foster homes for a short time, with the goal that they can all be in the same foster home in the very near future. They are in homes very close to each other, so they are all able to be together daily. 2010-03-02 08:24:07 Chrissy Marzano

Safe Place Success Story :

In honor of National Safe Place Week coming up, National Safe Place would like to highlight great success stories from our agencies across the United States. Today\'s Success Story: The Salvation Army Glendale, Glendale, CA A young man called in one evening after reading a Safe Place poster in the local mall. He said, "Thank you so much for answering, I really need help." He had been homeless for weeks since he discovered that his mother was stealing from him to feed her alcoholism. He told us his mother provided nothing for him in her house, no food, nothing but a string of boyfriends. The last one had indicated that the young man was no longer welcome. By the time the young man called Safe Place, he hadn\'t slept or eaten in three days. He was suicidal, certain that if he died no one would even notice. He was anxious to accept shelter and any benefits available to him. All he wanted to do was join the National Guard and get off the streets until he could enlist. He called back to Safe Place to check in everyday for the next two weeks; we were the only ones he felt cared that he was alive. 2010-03-01 11:24:18 Chrissy Marzano