Read about some of our highlighted youth and staff
Meet Eddie
Eddie, once a homeless youth deeply entrenched in the Child Welfare system, initially struggled to adapt after arriving at our facility, CHC. Tormented by guilt over leaving his family on the streets and skeptical of adult support, Eddie remained withdrawn. However, after 17 months at CHC, his outlook transformed. He has built trusting relationships with staff and peers, completed job training programs, obtained forklift certification and a security guard card, and is now employed full-time. With his first $200 saved and enrollment in Five Keys Charter School, Eddie is not just surviving; he is actively planning for a stable, fulfilling future.
Meet Zuri, 23
Zuri, came to us after being attacked on the streets in the Bay Area. She was scared and tired of living day-to-day without a sense of security. Our Safe Haven program staff instantly surrounded her with love, gave her a warm meal and clean clothes, and provided her with a bed to make her feel safe. Zuri was able to rest, heal, and restore. Throughout this quiet time, she began to believe in herself and focused on finding her way. With the help of some of our staff, she found a job as an in-home health aid and ended up unselfishly helping a patient who was COVID-19 positive. While quarantined at the Cov, Zuri was determined, now more than ever, to work hard and move out on her own. Guiding her was one of our Rapid Re-housing Case Managers who successfully found and helped Zuri move into her very first apartment! Today, Zuri has a steady job in the health industry, a safe place to call home, and overwhelming pride in herself.
Meet Miss Marian, Staff
Meet Ms. Marian Foreman, CHC’s Youth Outreach Advocate. Ms. Marian is often the first staff member young people see when they come through our doors, and the first person to connect them to the wide variety of resources we offer at CHC. “We provide services to help them succeed in whatever it is they tell us they want to do,” Ms. Marian said. Ms. Marian treats every youth as a unique individual and prefers to see our youth as “displaced” rather than “homeless”, because “it’s a temporary situation that they’re in.”
Ms. Marian has worked at CHC for nearly a decade – and her and her family’s history of service to individuals experiencing homelessness and other trauma goes back even further. Marian’s mother was one of the “founding mothers” of a shelter serving survivors of domestic violence in Massachusetts, Casa Myrna and Ms. Marian works every day to “represent her in a positive way in the community.”
“That’s what we do here. We meet people right where they’re at,” she said. “When they win, we win.”
