With roughly $8,000 and a dream, local Rotary clubs hope to end youth homelessness in the St. Cloud area.
Well, $8,000, expertise and favors from friends.
The clubs are launching Pathways 4 Youth, a homeless youth opportunity center where teens and young adults ages 16 to 23 can go to get help rangingfrom thebasics,such as food and clothing, to long-term, including connections to housing, education and jobs.
And they've done it in just six months.
In the non-profit world, that's the blink of an eye. A project like this could have required multiple grants from multiple government and non-government agencies to get underway, and many more to sustain.
Instead, Rotary members, led by project chair Tim Wensman,found a way to create something that benefited the non-profit community and connected people in need to theresources area non-profits already provide.
And they've already raised enough money to create and fund a program for years to come.Their work has raised more than $300,000and nearly $150,000 in in-kind donations.
Rotary members areshowing off their work at an open house Tuesday, in the newly renovated opportunity center.
The idea was initiated by the Rotary Club of St. Cloud, but has quickly gained support from other area Rotary clubs, including theSt. Cloud Granite club and the Great River club.
It all started with a question: What if we could say that there's no homeless youth in the St. Cloud metro area?
In the last year or so, the Rotary Club of St. Cloudhad heard from local experts on the impact of youth homelessness and sex trafficking in St. Cloud, said John Bodette, a club memberand major project organizer.
Steve Bresnahan, former executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, andBill Maney,owner of trucking company Maney International,round out the core force behind the project.
Bodette recalled the moment he knew this was the issue for the club.
"At one point ... Bill came up to me and he said, 'You know what? We can't just talk about this. We gotta do something,' " he said.
They started small — relatively.
"We said let's get a project that we can do that's short, and that we can have a good impact and that we can have involvement," Wensman said.
So the club volunteered to help remodel the second floor at Place of Hope, creating new rooms for mothers with children experiencing homelessness.
"In three and a half weeks and 44 volunteers laterand a few thousand dollars, we remodeled and said gosh, I think we've got something that's got some traction in this club," Wensman said.
From there, the group did its research.
"We know there are kids," Wensman said. "I've taken pictures of youth in the community ... one right outside the back of D.B. Searle's. ... This guy was 20 years old, had two backpacks and was digging through the garbage looking for food."
And many are local.
"The vast majority of the youth are from Stearns Countyand from Benton County. They're not from Chicago. They're not immigrants. They're not from other countries," Wensman said. "So that was kind of a news flash for everybody....We did a focus group.One of them was from Cold spring. Another one was from Foley."
Club members also learned it's more cost effective to help than to do nothing.
A 2015 study from economist Steven Foldes found that taxpayers end up paying, on average, more than $610,000 over a lifetime for a homeless youth who doesn't get help early on. That includeswelfare and food assistance, housing and the operation of the criminal justice system. It also includes reduced earnings and ensuing reduction in taxes paid.
Intervention can make a difference, but the window is small, Foldes said. Research shows if a person reaches the age of 25 and they haven't started to become self-sufficient, the probability that they ever will plummets, he said.
Lisa Jacobson,executive director of HOPE 4 Youth, agreed. The well-established program for homeless youth in Anoka was one club members visited and eventually decided to partner with.
"These are kids. Many of them were probably dealt a bad hand the day they were born.And now they’re at an age where they can do something about it," she said."Many times that means walking out the door to an uncertainty.Having a program like this in their reach is critical to their future success."
Since deciding to take action, the Rotary group has had more than 150 meetings, in and out of St. Cloud, with organizations and agencies that help homeless youth, from Duluth to Elk River to Anoka.
"So we talked to solution providers. We've talked to United Way. We talked to St. Cloud police. Just everybody we could think of," Wensman said.
They also met with the homelessness community solutions team created by United Way of Central Minnesota, which brings local groups together to work on the issue.
The ideafor Pathways, which is essentiallya drop-in center, came from a few places.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, the Central Minnesota Housing Partnership and other local agencies applied for a very competitive, large federal grant for something similar, but were denied.
"When we heard that,we said, well OK, now that's something that's got a lot of support with all the social service agencies.There's been some work on it," Wensman said. "And we thought that was an area where we could contribute our strengths as a Rotary club in order to get that accomplished."
HOPE 4 Youth, which stands for housing, outreach, prevention and education, had particularly impressed them. It started as an all-volunteer drop-in center five years ago, Jacobson said.
Today, in addition to the drop-in center,it has 12staff, some of which are part-time, and250 active volunteers.In 2016, more than 400 youth experiencing homelessness walked through the drop-in center doors.
"The nice thing about us helping to open Pathways is that we have all the changes or mistakes we made over the five years. So we’re bringing the program to them at its best. We think it will be a win for St. Cloud," Jacobson said.
HOPE 4 Youth was looking for a chance to expand its program outside of Anoka. Homeless outreach workers for Stearns County and Catholic Charities were in need of a good place to meet with people in need. Catholic Charities has also committed to providing a full-time case worker for the site, at the agency's expense.
The second floor above Central Minnesota Youth forChrist wasrecently vacated by St. Cloud School District 742.
Soon club memberscreated an LLC under the St. Cloud Rotary Foundation and recruited other Rotary clubs. And they started raising money.
They also met with youth andhomeless outreach workers to see what programs they'd need to provide.
"Their comments came back, 'Well, can I have a mailing address, just so I have a point of contactthat if I get a job I can have material sent to me?How about a shower?How about a place where I can leave my backpack while I go for a job interview?How about some emergency food?How about some clothing? ...It'd be nice to have a meal,' " Wensman said.
So they did just that.
The center includes some office space and desks for case managers and outreach workers. It has a small health center and quiet room. Ithas a social area and access to computers for filling out job or school applications.
There's a room full of donated clothes that youth would actually want to wear — not the '70s era business suit. It will have casual clothes and clothes suitable for job interviews.
Another room will be stocked with food and personal hygiene supplies. Bigs and Littles from Big BrothersBig Sisters of Central Minnesota collected donations of hygiene products, bagging them up as kits for homeless youth. Coborn's provided shelving and will help provide food and beverages into the future.
Another room has lockable bins where youth can store backpacks for short periods of time. Their entire world can be in those bags, so it's important they stay safe. There's a shower area and place to do laundry.
There's a special children's room, where youth with young children can meet with case managers while their child is entertained and safe.
Organizers expect to see 25 to 35 youth stopping in the center each day, coming back as needs arise.
It was crucial that local Rotary clubs got the support of the community to develop Pathways, Jacobson said.
"The community coming together is the critical component, and not just in the beginning, but all the way through," she said.
Membersleveraged contacts to find electricians, plumbers, carpenters and skilled workers to reconfigure the space to the center's needs.
Rotarians did the grunt work that didn't require a professional hand, including painting and moving furniture.
"We hadall thesevolunteer hours. 1,600 or 1,700 volunteers hours so far in this project," Bodette said.
They've received a vast majority of the building work through in-kind donations — $147,000 worth.They've also raised $300,000.
Initially, those funds were going to be used for the building. But with all the in-kind donations, that money can now go toward programs and making Pathways sustainable. It's been heartening.
A local doctor will staff the Pathways health center a few nights a week. Two localobstetricians offered to give STI and pregnancy tests on short notice. Another business offered eye exams and glasses. People donated design skills and printing for signs and other materials.
Mechanics offered to help fix up cars. Others offered training and access to apply for well-paying, low-skilled entry jobs.
The refrigerators, washer and dryer and other appliances were donated. The counter tops were donated. The security system and televisions were donated.
One retail store offered to add decorations to help make the place feel more homey, down to the flowers on each dining room table. They even offered to change decorations seasonally.
HOPE 4 Youth donated itsold tables and chairs as they were updating their dining space in Anoka.
There will likely be more offers of help as the program evolves to fit the needs of the community, Wensman said.
"I think it’s important whenever you identify an issue in a community that the community comes together to find a solution, and to be creative and to be innovative in that solution, so youwill get the best results," Jacobson said. "So this for me is exactly that."
IF YOU GO...
Open house for Pathways 4 Youth
When: 4-7 p.m., Tuesday, March 20. Short program at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Second floor of the Youth for Christ building,Suite 260, 203 Cooper Ave. N, St. Cloud. Entrance is at the back of the building.
THE BASICS
Pathways 4 Youth is a non-profit organization, a partnership of St. Cloud area Rotary clubs and Hope 4 Youth.Itserves as an entry point for teens and young adults ages 16 to 23 to access social services,medical care, computers, lockers, showers, a mailing address, food, clothing, laundry facilities and an evening meal.
Hours
Pathways 4 Youth will be open 2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Contact information
To contact Pathways 4 Youth, call 320-316-1640, email pathways@pathways4youthmn.orgor visitpathways4youthmn.org.
To help, get involved or to learn more
Details on how to donate money or material goods to Pathways 4 Youth, volunteer, get a tour or book a speaker is available at www.pathways4youthmn.org.
For more about HOPE 4 Youth, Pathways 4 Youth's partner organization, visithope4youthmn.org.
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