Youth Homeless Campaign

I grew up on the Menominee Indian Reservation where community was always family. Over time and with the influx of alcohol, drugs, sexual & emotional abuse, sex trafficking, the list goes on; our youth have endured a new type of intergenerational  trauma. The Native American people suffered great loss at the hands of the government many years ago and today, we are suffering loss at our own hands. 

I have worked in many different capacities,   On and off of the reservation and youth trauma exists EVERYWHERE! I’ve attempted many times to change it but unfortunately ran into roadblock after roadblock. I let that discourage me for a while but continued to work with youth in a different capacity. My dream fizzled a little until 2 nights ago and the young lady I met, reignited the spark that lit my fire to begin with. 

I don’t have the funding to make my dream a reality, and grants won’t cover the proposed idea in this situation.  So I’m reaching out to theworld in hopes that we can help change the lives of youth on the Menominee Indian Reservation and possibly develop a plan that could be copied in other communities enduring the same trauma. 

My goal is to develop a youth drop in center that offers a continuum of services to youth who are unstably housed or experiencing homelessness, trauma, safety issues and more .

Beyond meeting youth's immediate needs, my goal is to provide services to the youth with all the tools and support they need to succeed: stable housing; access to employment and education opportunities; primary and mental health care; lasting connections with caring adults, and the skills to live a healthy and independent life. The eternal goal would be self-sufficiency of that youth through addressing the issues that are able to connect the youth with resources and tools that will help them overcome the trauma they have dealt with. 

Because I don’t have a house right now to house this dream of mine; my goal with this fundraiser is to start getting some of the essentials that youth need (cloths, food, hygiene , phones, etc etc)