More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dust is starting to settle slightly in all areas of life. Vaccinations are now available for teenagers, restaurants are opening back up for regular dining, and previously canceled events are back on track for the summer. Within all of these exciting markers of moving back to “normal,” it has given Housing Resources for Youth a chance to reflect on the past year and the challenges our hosts, youths, and program have faced.
In an average year, teenagers are faced with numerous hurdles, challenges and successes. Everything from navigating new friend dynamics, extra curriculars, social events like prom or starting to plan for college and graduation. Each one is filled with drama and tension or excitement and photo-op memories. Teens who have the added challenges of experiencing homelessness, or instability at home, find ways to claw through and still show up.
But this hasn’t been an average year. From kindergarten through senior year, kids have been either connected to remote classrooms or have traversed changing in-person class schedules. At best, this has been a frustrating and difficult year. For those who are actively dealing with homelessness or added stressors at home, this year has been a monumental feat to make it through.
For youth in crisis there are numerous factors to consider daily: Do they have reliable internet or enough data on their phones to call into class? If they have in person classes, are they in a stable enough place to get a ride to school? Is there parental support helping motivate them to attend classes or submit assignments, beyond all the other survival issues youth experiencing homelessness face daily?
For the youths we work with, many of them have had their ups and downs even once they moved into their host homes. Settling into a new space, with new people, and a new schedule is already a daunting task. But add in pandemic life restrictions and precautions, and it can feel extremely overwhelming. And yet, the high school seniors we work with are all on track to graduate on-time, and either attend school in the fall or are pursuing full time employment. Each of our youth have been able to navigate the stressors of COVID-19, knowing they had hosts who were there to support them emotionally, mentally and physically. Each of them has been in a house where they feel safe, secure, and connected to their community, which before coming into the Housing Resources for Youth program was a distant pipe dream.
Housing Resources for Youth learned valuable lessons during this past year that have helped propel the organization forward for the 2021-22 school year. We recognize the diverse needs of our youth and the capacities of our hosts. We are rolling out a new opportunity for short term “Safe Haven Housing” in addition to our long-term hosting program. We are also excited to be working with the Maine Community Fellow program at Bowdoin College to expand our outreach to new youth, potential hosts and referring programs through the help of an intern. And, we are working with a social work intern from USM for the upcoming year to solidify our case management system for all Housing Resources youths.
While the pandemic dramatically impacted the ways we went about our day to day lives, there have also been a lot of positive moments for growth and reflection. With changes on the horizon, Housing Resources for Youth is excited to see how some of the large scale shifts we saw during the pandemic help us continue to meet the needs of youth in our community.
Madelyn Holm is the program coordinator at Housing Resources for Youth. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.
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