Information for homeless youth

Moving this to my new home here (it needs to be updated, but I want to go ahead and make it available here anyway), originally posted to my thoughts.com blog on 09/01/2009:

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This is a list of resources that I've compiled over time and I regularly offer via online ads. I have decided to copy & paste it here, so that it can be accessed at any time by someone who needs the information. Please keep in mind that I live in the Phoenix, AZ area, and therefore some, but not all, of these resources are limited to the Phoenix area.
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If you or someone you know is a homeless teen, or doesn’t have a steady place to stay (also known as “couch surfing”), or is in a bad home situation that they’re thinking of trying to escape, here are some resources and information that may be of help. These organizations/resources offer many more services than those I mention here, but I will tell you some of what I know they have to offer.

Tumbleweed Center For Youth Development
602-271-9904
24-hour crisis hotline: 602-841-5799
Toll-free: 1-866-SAFE703
www.tumbleweed.org

If you are in the Phoenix area, Tumbleweed is the first place I would recommend you call. They have been extremely helpful to many kids I’ve known.

• Serves youth ages 11-22.
• Emergency shelter.
• Drop-in center.
• Transitional living.
• Counseling.
• Tumbleweed will help you with any and all necessities, from a place to sleep to food and clothes, toiletries, literally anything you might need.
• They will help you get your GED. This includes helping you prepare for it, and they will pay for your test. I don’t know for certain that they still offer this, but they gave my foster son a $100 gift card just for passing his GED.
• Tumbleweed has lots of great “incentive” type programs, such as helping you get a job and then giving you rewards (such as gift cards) for certain accomplishments like being on time for work every day, etc.
• Bus passes if you are working or going to school, or looking for work, etc.
• Tumbleweed has a lot to offer, so give them a call!

National Runaway Switchboard
1-800-621-4000
www.1800runaway.org

You do NOT have to actually be a “runaway” to get help from this organization.

• Anonymous, confidential & free crisis line 24/7.
• Helps youth up to age 21.
• Message relay & conference calls: They will deliver a message to your family for you and your parents can leave a message with them to pass along to you. If you give them a message for your parents, they will call them and deliver it. This is a very helpful service if you wish to let your parents know you’re okay, or have some other message to get to them, but do not wish to speak to them personally. Constructive messages only (in other words, they won’t call to tell your parents you hate them or curse them out for you). If you would like to talk to your family personally but feel that things won’t go well in the conversation, they will help you call them via conference call and stay on the line with you to help talk through things.
• Referrals to drug rehab facilities, shelters, family counselors, etc.
• Information regarding legal and medical issues.
• “Home Free” program: If you’d like to get home, but cannot afford it, they can provide a free Greyhound bus ticket. There are qualifications you must meet. For example, you must be between the ages of 12 and 20 and have had a missing person’s report filed on you. Up to age 18 you must be returning to a parent or legal guardian. If you’re age 19 or 20, they can get you a ticket to an independent living facility. There may be other rules as well, so please check with them.
• Bulletin Board: On their web site, www1800runaway.org, they have a bulletin board where you can post questions and get answers. It is a wonderful place to start if you have internet access and you have questions about things like what age it is legal to leave home in different areas of the country, emancipation, legal issues, how to help a friend who is in a bad situation, etc. The bulletin board is really great, and I cannot stress that enough. Very, very helpful.

Covenant House
Covenant House “Nine Line”: 1-800-999-9999
www.covenanthouse.org

• Their motto: “Food, clothing, shelter for a night: given freely, with no questions asked, no strings attached, for any hurting, homeless youth who will knock on our door tonight.”
• Nineline hotline services available 24/7.
• Urgent and primary medical care free of charge to homeless, runaway, and at-risk young people ages 21 and younger. Psychiatric services also.
• If there is not a Covenant House located in your city, the Nineline will help you with where to go. They also refer to family shelters if your entire family is homeless.
• Provides shelters, help with employment, finding a place to live, etc.
• Mother/Child program: Provides services to homeless pregnant women and young mothers with children. The purpose of the program is to provide long-term housing, health services, counseling, employment training and parenting skills workshops to young mothers so they and their children can look forward to a brighter, more stable future.

ChildHelp USA
1-800-4ACHILD
www.childhelp.org

• If you believe you are being abused, ChildHelp is a good place to call and discuss it, and what your options are.
• Does not provide immediate shelter.

HomeBase Youth Services
602-254-7777 or 1-888-254-4297
www.hbys.org

• Helps at-risk and homeless youth between the ages of 18-21.
• Local to the Phoenix and Tempe area.
• Very helpful, respectful, and non-confrontational (in other words, they will offer you help without pushing anything on you). No obligation, no questions asked.
• They have a Street Outreach Van that is stocked with food, clothing, water, hygiene supplies and sleeping bags.
• Resource Program at the Dustin D. Wolfswinkel Center for Youth: Through the program youth receive basic needs, case management, and life-skills training. Resources available at the center include food, clothing, hygiene supplies, laundry and shower facilities, bus tickets, employment skills training, resume writing assistance, support for educational needs, mental health care, substance abuse intervention, case management, medical and dental care, and referrals to obtain overnight shelter and/or permanent housing (either at HomeBase or with an outside agency). Youth are able to earn points for their hard work and, in turn, use those points to obtain gift cards, extra bus tickets, and other prizes offered at the monthly barbecue that's held at the center.
• Offers mental health and substance abuse services to the youth in all of its programs.
• Employment and education services: Employment skills training and educational assistance is available. They will also provide study guides for your G.E.D., and they will pay for your G.E.D.
• HomeBase Education Assistance Fund: Want to go to college, a trade school, or a vocational-training program? You can apply for a scholarship through this program.

Stand Up For Kids
1-888-365-4KID
www.standupforkids.org

Call this hotline and you will get a very friendly, very helpful person who will talk through your situation with you. They won’t judge, they won’t tell you what you have to do, they will just talk to you and find out what you need right now. Then they will help you get it. It’s that simple. They operate, as they say, “like a family”. Lots of resources from food and shelter to counseling, helping you plan your way, etc.

...and then there’s me...
Cheri Mason
Salmagundigeneral@yahoo.com

I’m a mom, that’s all I am. I am not a trained social worker, an expert on anything, or a miracle worker. But... I’m pretty good at coming up with ideas, problem-solving, or just listening. I also happen to have been around the block a time or two, and I’ve seen just about everything, so you’re not going to shock me and I’m not going to judge you. If you don’t feel like you’re getting what you need from the above resources, or you feel like you’re a little lost and not sure how to ask for help or what questions to ask, or you’d just like the advice of a mom who doesn’t work for any official agency, contact me. I will do what I can, and I have found that there is almost always an answer that we can find together.

What I'm All About - Redux!

Posting this here for the first time, originally posted on my thoughts.com blog on 08/19/2009.

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Hello and thanks for stopping by!

I originally posted my first blog post, called “What I’m All About” back in December of ’08, when I decided to keep selling items on Craigslist and Kijiji.com. It recently occurred to me, though, that it would be a good idea to re-post what I’d said back then from time to time, along with perhaps a few changes and updates. So, here goes…

I am a single mom with a bad habit of collecting stray kids. I probably shouldn’t really say it’s a “bad” habit, because I don’t really feel that way and it isn’t anything I want to change, but it is an expensive habit, and that is why you’ll find me selling things online pretty much all the time. It’s how I supplement my income and continue to take care of kids that I can’t really afford otherwise.

I have two biological children of my own, one foster son who still lives at home while he attends college, and others I’ve collected over time who count on me as their mom. Even those who don’t still live here with us rely on me much in the ways we all leaned on our parents when we were young adults. They do their laundry at my home, eat dinner here many nights, borrow the car, call me in a crisis, and sometimes need help paying the bills. In addition to all these, there is a fairly continuous stream of young people coming and going from my home regularly. Often they just need a place to stay for the night or on a short-term basis, some food and a shower, some advice, or a referral and a ride to the most appropriate organization that can help. Some stay and some go, some become part of the family and others never really attach like that. One thing is certain, though: you never know how many to expect around my dinner table on any given evening.

I've always felt that helping needy teens was my "calling". I know to most people they're a pain in the backside, but I feel differently, so I take them in. I've been doing this for a few years now. I've never had a parent deny permission for their teen to live with me (most have thrown them out anyway), but I've also never received a penny, either from a parent or foster care, for the support of these kids. If you want to know why that is, I'll be happy to answer questions, but I won’t go into detail here, just for the sake of space. So, anyway, I support them myself. I don't have a lot of money (I work as a janitor for a church), but the older kids normally do contribute what they can, and we always manage to scrape by.

The kids and I also work on “outreach” type projects to get info out to those on the streets. Through my years of working unofficially with young people I have gained a lot of information about available resources, and we try to get that word out. I offer a list of resources online via regular Craigslist posts, and we also hand out printed copies of this list at parks and other “spots”. We bring sack lunches to the homeless, take popsicles and cold treats out to those on the street in the heat, distribute water bottles, and use the opportunities to hand out our resource list to those who are under 21.

So, anyway, please take a look regularly at my online ads. Think of it as an ongoing yard sale (I have items as cheap as 25 cents!) with new things being added continuously. I have a huge variety of items for sale, so please take a look around at wherever you found me, and see if there's anything you can use. This is how I fund my support of these kids and pay for our “projects”, so I appreciate every sale. To find all of my items conveniently, all you have to do is search the word SALMAGUNDI on in the search box of whatever site you're at, and they should all come up for you.

I also want to say, as always, that if you know a teen in the Phoenix area who is alone and in need, feel free to contact me and I will see what I can do. I am not any kind of organized charity or anything, and I can't take everyone in, but I've learned a lot in the years I've been doing this and I know quite a few resources. I'm no miracle worker and sometimes I can't come up with much better answers than anyone else, but I do have the benefit of having been around this block a time or two. So, now and then I know of a solution I've seen work out before, or a place to call, or something.

Have a great day, and thanks for “visiting”.