Invisible People Documentary Visit Safe Place Sites
Posted July 16th, 2010 by Chrissy Marzano
Tags: homeless youth, mark horvath, homelessness, homeless Topic: Runaway and Homeless Youth
"I once heard a story about a homeless man on Hollywood Boulevard who really thought he was invisible. It is not hard to comprehend this man's slow spiral into invisibility. Once on the street, people started to walk past him, ignoring him as if he didn't exist?much like they do to a piece of thrash on the side walk. I not only feel their pain, I truly know their pain. You would never know it now, but I was a homeless person. Fourteen years ago, I lived on Hollywood Boulevard," - Mark Horvath.
Mark Horvath is on a personal mission to tell the story of homeless people across America. Horvath is a documentary filmmaker who is determined to give homeless people a voice and a face so they will no longer remain invisible to the world around them.
This summer, Horvath is embarking on a road trip across the United States with a documentary team to show the effects of homelessness across the country. Last summer, he visited over 25 cities including two Safe Place agencies, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth in Las Vegas, and Youth Oasis in Baton Rouge, LA. This year he is interested in highlighting the Safe Place program again in hopes to get an in depth look at how our agencies provide resources to homeless youth nationally.
Maybe you've seen a Safe Place sign in your neighborhood. I know whenever I see one I smile. It's really a very cool and simple idea. When teens have a problem often they don't have anyplace to go. When a kid sees this sign they know that it is a "safe place" for them and they will be connected to real help. Gosh, I wonder how much that would have changed me when I was raising hell as a teenager?" -Mark Horvath
Horvath will be visiting Wichita Children's Home in Wichita, KS at the end of July. Toward the end of August, he will be visiting the National Safe Place office and YMCA Safe Place Services in Louisville, KY, as well as Homeward Bound/Brighton Center in Newport, KY. During his visit, Horvath will be exploring Safe Place's national approach to assist homeless youth as well as the efforts on the local level with street outreach and raising awareness about the issue.
Horvath has experienced first hand the depths of being homeless in America. After pushing himself off the streets, Horvath decided to give a face to the 'invisible people' among us by launching his website: Invisible People, where he shares short video clips of homeless people one at a time. His site has struck a cord with many for its raw visuals of homeless life. He utilizes the power of social media to draw attention to his cause and has gained a passionate following on Twitter with Invisible People and his personal account, @HardlyNormal. Amongst his followers are a diverse group of homeless advocates, non-profits, and people wanting to help make a change.
As Horvath interviews people, he inquires about their situation and usually ends with the question: "If you had three wishes, what would they be?" When having that same question countered to him, Horvath responds: "My first wish would be that people really see the reality of homelessness, and that we develop communities and work as a team to solve the problem."And the third: "I would like security and normalcy to my life, but with a name like HardlyNormal, it's never going to happen."
His outreachwork is gaining widespread attention. Ford Motor Company donated a vehicle for his 2010 Summer Road trip and most recently he won the Pepsi Refresh Grant for invisiblepeople.tv to help homeless people utilize social media to tell their story and help themselves out of poverty.
To learn more about Mark Horvath, check out his website: http://www.invisiblepeople.tv/ or you can follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hardlynormal and www.twitter.com/invisiblepeople
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Jimmy Wayne Fans Give Back to National Safe Place
Posted June 17th, 2010 by Chrissy Marzano
Tags: safe place, jimmy wayne, volunteer Topic: Safety Net Update
Friday, June 18th, 2010 Singer Jimmy Wayne kicks off the 'Hot Country Nights' concert series at 4th Street Live. This rising star has a devoted following of fans who not only are driving miles to watch him perform, but they are also emulating his passionate work for helping youth in need.
Friday afternoon a group of Jimmy Wayne fans are helping YMCA Safe Place Services in their time of need. Last week, significant water damaged the boy's dormitory area of the shelter and clean up is still underway. To help finish the restoration process, fans are gathering at the shelter at noon for lunch and then getting to work helping repaint the dorm.
"I knew a lot of fans would be driving in for the show and I thought it would be fun doing some type of work project at a local facility and a great opportunity to get to know each other," said Nicole Osmera, Regional Leader of the Meet Me Halfway Street Team.
The Meet Me Halfway Street Team are followers of Jimmy Wayne's Meet Me Halfway Campaign. Beginning on January 1, 2010 Jimmy Wayne set out on a journey to walk halfway across the United States to raise awareness about Homeless Youth and Foster Care.
"Here I am living life. I'm comfortable. I'd been on the Brad Paisley tour for a lot of the year, and I just didn't feel like I'd done anything to make a difference. I got to thinking, and I said, 'What if I walk halfway across the country to raise awareness [about youth who age out of the foster care system with nowhere to go]?'" Wayne states on the Meet Me Halfway Campaign website: www.projectmmh.org.
Since he has started his walk, fans have formed regional street teams across the country to support him and the cause; gaining awareness through social media and their website. The Meet Me Halfway Southern Region Street Team will be showing their support by volunteering from 12-4 PM at the YMCA Safe Place Services Shelter 2400 Crittenden Drive.
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Running for the Solution
Posted May 13th, 2010 by Chrissy Marzano
Tags: safe place, running, vista Topic: VISTA Service Series
Running for the Solution
By: Jill Luckett
The Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-Marathon is a 13.1 mile run that is part of the many festivities leading up to the Kentucky Derby. Runners come from all 50 states and several foreign countries to partake in the scenic race that finishes in downtown Louisville. This year the race filled capacity with 15,000 entrants.
Participants sign up for many different reasons; they love running, they want to challenge themselves, they want to join a friend, they want to try something new or they want to support a cause. Several charity teams are formed to raise awareness and funds for a particular cause. This year 6 individuals came together to run for one cause: Safe Place.
Runners:
- Makensie DeRossett: New Albany, KY
- Johnny DeRossett: New Albany, KY
- Whitney Fuller: Winchester, KY
- Emily Bello: Winchester, KY
- Joseph Welsh: Louisville, KY
- Jill Luckett(me): Louisville, KY
I ran the Mini-Marathon last year for another charity and it was a great motivation for finishing the race. When I joined the National Safe Place staff in February, I thought it would be a great idea to form a running team in support of Safe Place in the 2010 race. At first, many people were interested in joining but as the race got closer the number of runners decreased. Completing a Mini-Marathon is a difficult endeavor to take on but we ended up with an amazing group of six runners.
Out of the six runners, only two, including myself, had participated in a Mini-Marathon before. It is recommended to start training at least 3 months before the race. You have to build stamina and endurance, and this is not an easy task, especially for those who are not runners. The team began training in January, slowly conquering more miles with every new week.
With all six runners having very busy schedules, the months went by quickly and before we knew it, race day had arrived. National Safe Place put together goody bags as a thank you to all the runners for their support. Safe Place t-shirts, with the runner's last names on them were also handed night before the race.
Saturday, April 24, was race day. We had to be at the starting line at 7:15am with the start gun going off at 7:30am. The sight of 15,000 runners was amazing. There was just a feeling in the air of camaraderie and slight nerves. The runners of the National Safe Place team had spoken to each other the night before and it sounded like everyone was very anxious and excited to conquer the race they had been anticipating for all those months.
My personal opinion of the race was that it was an amazing time. I do not consider myself a runner, so I was just as nervous this time around. I remember finally reaching mile 8 and thinking to myself "this really isn't that bad." One of my favorite moments of the race was running past a Fire Station, which was a Safe Place site, and having the four Firemen standing out front yelling "Go Safe Place!" It gave me an extra boost of energy that I greatly needed at that point.
I had asked other runners to share their experiences with me as well, and this is what they had to say:
"My dad and I trained together and this was our first mini. It was a great way for us to spend some quality time together and have a common interest to talk about. After I crossed the finish line I felt that I had really accomplished something! I'm already looking forward to running my next Mini and maybe even a Marathon." - Makensie DeRossett
"It was an amazing day for me as I got to coach my sister through her first half marathon. She had a very positive attitude and never stopped smiling. We appreciate the support of National Safe Place and the neat t-shirts with our names on the back. My favorite part of the race was in the first few miles when we were heading up the hills in the park and some people were passing us on both sides. Whitney confidently said "I think a lot of these people that are passing us are going to slow down and we're going to end of passing them soon!" I thought it was very cute how confident she was and she was correct. We did end of passing a lot of folks who came out fast in the beginning. Slow and steady wins, right?" - Emily Bello
"The Derby Festival Mini Marathon was a great experience for me. I only decided to run it in January having never really even run a mile before. I was able to train with my dad and then run the actual race with my sister, a professional runner in my opinion. She was so encouraging and it was such a great moment for us when I crossed the finish line. I would definitely do it again and am thankful for the push from Jill and National Safe Place to set a goal and achieve it. I am certain it will not be my last mini marathon and am excited to keep running!" - Whitney Fuller
In the end, I think the 2010 National Safe Place Team was a success. I am very proud of all the runners for sticking with the training, helping raise $400 and gaining awareness for Safe Place. The kids that Safe Place serves are usually running from the problem, the six individuals who completed the 2010 Mini-Marathon were running for the solution.
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Seeking Answers for Runaway and Homeless Youth
Posted April 16th, 2010 by Sandy Bowen
Tags: runaway Topic: Runaway and Homeless Youth
WASHINGTON, D.C.?According to the experts there is no one reason why so many youth become runaways and homeless. Reasons often given include being forced from home, parental conflict, aging out of foster care, or being released from the juvenile justice system. To discuss the research and strategies for this social problem, the Urban Institute and the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall hosted a panel discussion April 8 on the large number of youth in America who run away or end up homeless each year.
Around 7 percent of youth, 12-17 years old, spent at least one night away from home without parental permission during the past year. Michael Pergamit, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and an authority on runaways, said the 7 percent was the consensus of different surveys and methodologies.
Another way to view runaways is to look at the lifetime history of a youth running away. Pergamit described research from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He interviewed about 1,100 12-year-olds every year until they were 18. One in five had run away at least once, according to Pergamit, a proportion that he regards as a "startling number." The percentage was about the same for white and black youth, and a little less frequent for Hispanic youth. Females are more likely than males to be runaways. About one-half of the runaways did it only once; about 22 percent did it twice; about 30 percent did it three or more times.
"The youth don't identify with the term runaway," said Hedda McLendon, deputy director of the Social Services Division at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) based in Washington, D.C. She said they view it as "an act of emancipation," "seeking freedom," or "taking life in their own hands." Ms. McLendon said that the definitions used are probably too restrictive. Spending a night somewhere without parental permission may only mean spending the night with "a boyfriend," or "significant other," or with an "extended family member." Sometimes, she noted, that the youth may later be placed with the "extended family member," so, "Can that youth be considered a runaway?" she asked.
While most people would regard 20 percent as a large number, she said the runaways might think it was too small. She also stated that using 18 years old as the cutoff between child and adult may not describe the reality well enough. She has often seen 24-25-and-26-year-olds who were not self-sufficient. "It is not really an age thing but how independent they are and how they can get those skills."
Whatever the precise definition of a runaway one wants to use, some understanding of the problem has emerged from the practices of people who manage the problem for society. The main reason cited for runaways is "parental conflict," said Amy Dworsky, senior researcher at Chapin Hall. The issues range from sexual activity, pregnancy, drug use, and sexual orientation.
Dworsky observed two major kinds of homeless youth: "sheltered youth" vs. "street youth." The former tend to be younger, female and their first time homeless. The latter tend to be older, male, and chronically homeless. She said they are the more troubled population, having health issues?both mental and physical.
McLendon did not regard youth who were "couch surfing" or otherwise had shelter to be as much of a concern as a young person on the street. McLendon said that Washington had a "huge population of couch surfers."
Dworsky stressed that often the homeless youth have no connection to an adult. "They are missing positive adult role models," she said.
Dworsky said that most of the runaways are eventually reunited with their parents. The exceptions were those who left home because of severe abuse or neglect, or whose family left the area. McLendon said that LAYC fortunately catches 75 percent of the youth during the first episode. This permits them to do prevention work on this special group.
McLendon said multiple time runaways tend to enter the child welfare system and are likely to end up being homeless. These youth were a special focus of Bryan Samuels, who recently became a commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Before he held this position, from 2003-2007, he was involved with this problem more directly. Samuels said that when he was a welfare director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, they had a study done through Chapin Hall of multiple time runaways, whom he labeled "cyclers."
Samuels said that there was no single cause for a "cycler" and "no single intervention was going to fix it." Even though the "cyclers" represent only a fraction of the runaway and homeless youth, he apparently felt that solving this problem could improve things for others of the runaway, homeless youth population. By focusing hard on this special population on a daily basis?with case management, tracking each youth, compensating of care givers, and involving law enforcement?they were able to reduce the population size by one-half. The time those youth spent in the state care system declined by 40 percent.
Less Money, More Clients
Mr. Samuels made a gloomy forecast for funding of youth service providers. He said this is a "tough time" for getting money, and that it was not likely that social services for runaway and homeless youth would get new resources. Samuels said that with less resources, a more "integrated approach" will be necessary.
The moderator for the discussion, Patrick Boyle, is editor of Youth Today, a periodical for people who run youth programs. Boyle quoted a survey from 2009 of organizations serving runaway and homeless youth populations in the Southeast United States. He said 95 percent of the programs had a substantial increase in clientele, yet 85 percent had to cut staff. The majority had suffered losses in state funding, city grants, and foundation grants. None were receiving the same level of funding as they had the previous year.
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NSP Article in Journal of Youth and Adolescense
Posted April 12th, 2010 by Chrissy Marzano
Tags: homeless youth, safe place Topic: Resources
National Safe Place, in collaboration with Indiana University, have their first academic article featured in the Journal for Youth and Adolescence highlighting the effects of the Safe Place program for youth in need.
National Safe Place: Meeting the Immediate Needs of Runaway and Homeless Youth
Abstract: An estimated 1.6 million youth run away from home each year. While on the run, these youth are vulnerable to exploitation, victimization, increased dangers and perpetration of criminal behavior. Runaway and homeless youth are far more likely to engage in substance use and delinquent behavior, drop out of school and suffer from sexually transmitted diseases and mental illness at greater rates than the norm. Timely and direct intervention in runaway and throwaway cases is imperative to protect youth from the high risks of living on the streets. National Safe Place is an outreach and prevention program that is uniquely designed to provide immediate safety and access to services for any youth in need. In partnership with over 360 youth serving agencies and over 10,000 businesses and community organizations across the United States, the Safe Place program educates youth about alternatives to running away and homelessness and provides easily accessible links to service providers. Ongoing data collection indicates that National Safe Place has been successful in reaching endangered youth at risk of abuse, neglect or serious family problems but that expanded program models remain needed. The challenges and successes of current programming and the future of National Safe Place program expansion are discussed.
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