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Serving meals, advice, comfort

Known as 'Grandma' to homeless youths she fed at the center, a beloved woman hangs up her pots.

Sacramento Bee

By Edgar Sanchez

November 24, 2007

http://www.sacbee.com/antelope/story/506486.html

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VIDEO

"Grandma" Serves up More than Good Food to Homeless Youth

News 10

Nicole Chavez

November 16, 2007

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Capital Campaign Donor "Thank You" Ad (pdf, 1mb)
Sacramento Business Journal
September 7, 2007
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Sacramento Monarchs Donate Reading and Learning Center
to WIND Youth Services
Read the full story
[ August 7, 2007 ]

Sacramento Monarchs donate a fully equipped computer lab in the new WIND Center		Sacramento Monarch, Yolanda Griffith with WIND kids at the Monarchs Reading and Learning Center Unveiling		Sacramento Monarchs and Maloof Entertainment donate a reading corner an library in the new WIND Center

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Homeless Teens say Goodbye to Rats, Cramped Quarters, Hello to Clean Showers
Sacramento Bee
By Jovcelyn Wiener
September 7, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/365144.html

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A Shelter in Need Helps Sacramento's Homeless Teens Find Hope
Sacramento Bee
by Diana Griego Erwin
February 1, 2004

Tasha Norris, Associate Director of the Wind Youth Center, never expected to see Ron Riley cry.

A young man whose upbringing left him something of an angry loner, Riley was the strong, stoic and sometimes mouthy guy hanging around the day center for homeless teenagers and runaways. He'd attached himself to the center and some of the staff there, but avoided places like shelters because, at age 19, he fit in neither with the adult homeless population nor places designed for children.

"A lot of our older teens are in between as far as having a real place to go," Norris said. "The services we have for adults just aren't for teen-agers."

Wind Youth Services operates a shelter, but the 10 beds the nonprofit is licensed for don't meet the need with this almost invisible population.
So on and off for the past two years, Riley, a friend and a dog camped along the river, which Riley liked in a way because it afforded him the slightest bit of peace and privacy.

Gone were the prying eyes that never missed his lanky, 6-foot-4 frame, always seeming to question his presence on the street, following him around the corner, down the alley. Who are you? Do you belong here? Homeless? Not? Trouble? Just a teenager?
Camping along the river is illegal, but Riley said he felt he had no other option. His tent was equipped with a piece of rug and other things to keep him warm.

Before he came to Sacramento two years ago, he was a high school and Job Corps graduate in the Bay Area struggling for his place in the world. Given a history of multiple foster care placements from age 5 on, he is devoid of family connections. A promise of a job and housing in Sacramento didn't pan out.

Winters have been the toughest, Riley said, not just because of the rain and occasional bitter cold. "This is a bad place to find work in winter," said Riley, whom the Jobs Corps trained for office work. "There's jobs listed, but they all want one to two years of experience and I didn't even have one year of experience."

Three weeks ago, Riley showed up at the youth center in pain and hobbling. Norris and other staffers became concerned when they saw how swollen his feet were under his wet socks and shoes.

Medical staff at the adjacent Loaves & Fishes complex diagnosed a pre-frostbite condition, treated him and gave him instructions on how to protect his toes. How the homeless are to follow home treatments without a home must be a continual frustration to the medical personnel who attempt to help them.

The center found Riley some new, dry shoes. Two weeks ago and still in pain, Riley said he was seen by UC Davis Medical Center interns working out of the health van visiting Loaves & Fishes. Things might have gotten better, but bullies found Riley's camp and slashed his tent to shreds, rendering it useless. He was left to the elements, which last week included cold temperatures.

In unbearable pain and "crying like a baby" on Friday, he told Norris he couldn't stand it anymore. His toes hurt so bad he wanted to cut them off himself; he described how he'd do it. The vivid cry for help didn't elude her.
"He's a pretty tough guy so it was pretty scary," she said. She took him to the medical center's emergency room; he was admitted immediately. He'll probably lose some toes to frostbite, hard to believe in Sacramento. But there is much to these forgotten kids' lives we do not know.

Wind Youth Services is raising money to buy its current shelter and expand to meet the needs of teens left to the streets. Their aim is to bring people like Riley in. Engage them. School them. Give them hope.
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At Youth Day Center, These Teens do Have a Home for the Holidays
Sacramento Bee
By Diana Griego Erwin
December 23, 2003

Rachel Sawyer sat with a large stuffed animal on her lap Monday while other teenagers at the Wind Youth Services day center returned to their tables, balancing paper plates heaped with turkey, ribs and other holiday trimmings.

Nineteen and homeless, Rachel, who wants to be a linguist, said she's tired of the scene that awaited her outside. Squatting in vacant structures. Sleeping by the river. Trying to stay warm. She's done it all. Besides, the cops know all the best places now and arrest you, she said. "I'm just really, really tired. I need a job. I need to make some changes. This time I'm really ready."

Rachel became a ward of the court at age 16 when her mother felt she could no longer handle her, landing Rachel in foster care. That didn't work out, so Rachel tried life on her own -- and kids on the streets of downtown Sacramento usually find Wind Youth Services sooner or later. According to estimates, 1,000 to 1,800 homeless and runaway teens populate Sacramento's streets, alleys, parks and riversides on any given night.

Started a decade ago, the nonprofit's drop-in day center, which has a building in the Loaves & Fishes complex on North C Street, offers homeless teens ages 12 to 20 the basics: hot meals, clothes, showers, laundry, counseling and other services, all with a welcoming smile.

In recent years services have branched out to include an on-site school, 10-bed emergency shelter and Teen Safety Net, which goes beyond the basics, helping with substance abuse, self-esteem, housing, family reunification, health services and job development.

These services reach beyond the organization's original mandate of providing a safe haven for homeless teens and runaways, some of them chronically so, said Associate Executive Director Bob Ekstrom. "We don't want them just moving on to (Loaves & Fishes) Friendship Party when they age out. We want to start bringing them opportunities."

And so, a school was "built," starting out as taped lines on the floor of warehouse space across from the center. Today, gray partitions separate teacher Cecilia Wright's one-room classroom, which recently "graduated" a student, who's since gone home to Michigan. "His parents said he couldn't come home until he had his GED," Wright said.

The teens are putting together a newspaper, Street Breeze, prompting at least one of its writers to sign up for journalism classes at Sacramento City College. Similarly, Ekstrom would love to see a small recording studio magically spring up on the premises because so many of the teens express themselves best through music.

The main draw Monday, though, was a party that included a visit from Santa. Even at age 20, Terry Jones had no qualms about sitting on the Jolly Old Elf's lap. "Hey, my mama always said that Santa will give you what you want, you know what I mean?" said Jones, who loves photography and sees himself as a budding musician. "So, I asked him for a recording contract. I said, 'Santa, you the man.' "

Each of the 70 or so teens gratefully received a hooded sweat shirt or sweater from Macy's while the nonprofit's board of directors served traditional holiday fare. Friends James Simpson, 12, and Jeremy Royal, 13, goofed around while eating. They met at the shelter a week and a half ago; both of their mothers lost their homes and are looking for housing. It's a homey place where groups and individuals bring in and serve nightly dinners, sometimes popping in just to bake cookies with the kids.
"It's fun," James said of the shelter. "There's other kids to hang with. We get to watch TV, play games and the food is good. The people are nice."
Across the room from James sat a kid with spiky, scary things protruding from his hat, choker and other adornments who seemed to be thoroughly yet quietly enjoying the party. I heard him say thank you to people at least seven times.
Sister Stephana O'Leary smiled at him sweetly. "If you look beyond the armor and chains, you find that the kids who look the toughest have the softest hearts."

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WIND Youth Center's Shelter Program
United Way California Capital Region

Fourteen-year old Paul and his twelve-year old sister Amber, were brought to the WIND Center by their older brother who had been successfully placed by WIND staff at Quinn Cottages after a stay at the shelter. United Way's Community Action Plan funds this important program. Paul and Amber had been homeless all of their lives following their parents from location to location, often sleeping in parks and abandoned buildings. At first the children were reluctant to come to the shelter, because they had been ingrained with the notion that their parents would be arrested and they would be sent away. They felt forced to seek shelter due to the increasing drug usage and domestic violence between their mother and stepfather, but accepted their brother's encouragement.

At first they would only share the most basic information with the WIND case managers and shelter staff. Both children were extremely smart and were enrolled in the WIND school program where they excelled and demonstrated a real joy in learning. As they began to relax and trust that the WIND staff really did care about them and their futures, they began to express their fears, hurts and hopes. The kids slowly began to accept that they had a right to expect more from life than what they had experienced so far. They loved their parents and realized that they parents undoubtedly loved them, but that they were not currently capable of providing for the children's care and needs.

WIND staff, hand-in-hand with Child Protective Services, worked to find a foster family that would appreciate the opportunity to care for two special children, and would continue to work with staff to develop a relationship and trust with Paul and Amber. The first night that they went to the foster home, Paul said, "I was so scared. They seemed nice, but I never believed that I would really have a home. I thought that this was some type of cruel joke."

Paul and Amber have been with their foster family since May of this year. Their lives have changed dramatically. For the first time in their lives, they each have their own bed; received new clothes purchased from a store; and have learned to swim. Paul just turned fifteen, and our staff went to his very first birthday party - his first time ever to have a cake and presents. The foster parents have maintained contact with our staff, and the kids have visited and participated in many of our activities.

With your donations to United Way's Community Action Plan, more children like Paul and Amber can begin to feel safe and plan for their future.