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Where might you be if you were
17 years old and on your own?
Ashley Barbre knows where she
was: a junior at Hermantown High School, seeking shelter in the skywalks
of Duluth with nothing but her backpack and the clothes she was wearing.
She is one of 660 kids that the Wilder Foundation says are homeless on any
given night in Minnesota.
Ashley shares how painful it
felt when her mother moved in with a boyfriend who said the kids weren't
welcome. Ashley's little brother decided to live with his father. Ashley
said that living on the streets was a safer option.
Ashley was lucky. An opening
at LSS Renaissance meant she could receive shelter, hot meals and
counseling support. But after a few short months, she admits that she was
still not ready to work on her own life issues. She wanted to live the
wild life, and left the program.
That life soon caught up with
her. In August 2004, two years later, Ashley returned to LSS Renaissance
with nowhere to go and a new baby on the way.
This time, she was ready.
"I was lost and didn't know
who I was," she says. "Here, I've learned to love myself, first, before I
can love others."
With support in a
goal-oriented program at LSS Renaissance, Ashley is working hard to learn
how to live on her own, have good personal boundaries and be a good
parent. She is also mending relations with her mother. This fall, she is
studying for her high school degree, and is a star performer at a
telemarketing firm in town.
Dana Nelson, her LSS case
worker, says that Ashley's come a long way. "Ashley missed out on some of
her childhood by taking on the parenting role, at times, for her little
brother and herself. But she is learning that it's not helpful to blame,
but to move on and take responsibility in her adult life.
"Sometimes, young people make mistakes. We try to find the good and any
lessons that can be learned."
While there are personal struggles still to come, working hard and living
optimistically is the path Ashley is choosing for herself. Each day, she
wakes with this inspiration to start her day: "Don't think of the bad
things. Wake up feeling like it's going to be a good day!"
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Renaissance:
Vital Signs
Top three
reasons why Renaissance youth are homeless:
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Family
homelessness /
instability
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Parental
abuse/neglect
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Drug/alcohol
use by the youth and/or chemical dependency of the
parent(s)
47 youth
served since 2001
5.5 months:
Average length of stay
50-150 kids
on any given night: Estimate of Duluth kids who need
Renaissance
Ground
Rules at Renaissance:
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No drugs,
alcohol, violence, weapons, or sexual activity
allowed. Violation of this rule is grounds for
immediate termination.
-
Residents
are required to be actively setting and achieving
goals aimed towards self-sufficiency. They meet weekly
with a case manager to review progress in areas of
employment, education, health, independent living
skills, relationship/social skills, and spiritual
concerns.
-
Residents
receive education and guidance in all areas of
independent living, and each person is responsible for
their own food purchase /
preparation and laundry. All household chores
are rotated among residents.
-
30% of all
income is paid into a security deposit account. When
the residents move out of Renaissance, they receive
all of that money back, minus any damages that may
have been caused by themselves or their guests.
-
Residents
must attend two mandatory meetings each week: an
on-site independent living skills class and a "House"
meeting on issues relating to living in a shared
environment.
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