StandUp for Kids

Our mission is ending the cycle of youth homelessness throughout the United States, one youth at a time. StandUp for Kids helps homeless youth tackle some of their everyday obstacles and work towards a life off the street as a successful and contributing member of their community.

In a country with the resources of the United States, no young person should ever experience homelessness. Our main responsibility is to our nation's youth faced with homelessness, whether temporary or longer term; no matter the circumstance that got them there; no matter the work that needs to be done to help them transition into safe, stable chapters of their lives. When our youth feel unwelcome, we stand taller to welcome them.

Categories of youth we assist:
- Early Runners: Displaced from their homes due to severe conflict, abuse, or neglect and experiencing short-term homelessness.
- Doubled-Up: Transition-age, cannot return home, and require housing with life-skills training.
- Older, Employed Homeless Youth: Highly mobile, with access to part or full-time employment, but no access to affordable housing opportunities.
- Street-Dependent Youth: Sleeping outside, in public spaces, or in abandoned buildings for six months or more in need of services to facilitate social inclusion.
- Homeless Youth with Long-Term Disabilities: Experiencing cognitive or emotional challenges and who will require support into their adult years.

Why have they left home:
- Family Instability, including child abuse and/or neglect, domestic violence, and conflict over sexual orientation or gender identiity
- System Involvement, including the child welfare and juvenile justice system. Aging out of foster care is accompanied by instant homelessness because housing is tied to government support
- Residential Instability with one's family and usually due to economic issues.
- Extreme Disconnection from education, employment, health care, and the positive communities, social and support networks that could help to change their lives

Our organization intervenes in the lives of these youth in hopes of assisting them in getting off the street and into stable and secure housing, school, and/or employment. We are here to empower homeless and at-risk youth toward lifelong personal growth, and to create in these youth a sincere belief in themselves through open, straightforward counseling, mentoring, and life-skills training - to be there for them at their most vulnerable and to help them see the possibilities ahead.

We strive to build communities where all youth know care, feel loved, and have a support system to move quickly from surviving to thriving. We aim to provide adequate resources and implement effective prevention strategies to end the cycle of youth homelessness. Opportunities to go to school, get jobs, and get access to health care.

Provide possibilities - - restore hope where there is trauma - not just change lives, save lives.

Through effective, qualified, and well-trained human resources, the organization will be able to establish and launch programs and resources to alleviate the problem of youth homelessness and prepare them for self-sufficiency - a promising future filled with opportunities.

To engage in our mission of ending the cycle of youth homelessness and helping homeless and at-risk youth see the possibilities ahead, we implemented four core programs: Street Outreach, Outreach Centers, Housing Support, and Mentoring.

(1) Street Outreach (Reaching Youth Where They Are)
Counselors go directly to the streets to reach homeless kids. They walk the streets in known “hotspots” and other areas where youth congregate, in order to distribute food, clothing, hygiene products, resource information, and referrals. Our volunteers/staff make it a point to be accessible at
consistent times each week in order to build relationships with homeless youth. We ensure the youth get connected to the other services we provide, as well as to trusted community resources.

(2) Outreach Centers (Enpowering Youth to Find Their Way
The intent and purpose of StandUp For Kids Outreach Centers are to provide safe and protective environments for homeless and at-risk youth. Our centers help provide the support network of
basic human needs and development through educational programs, one-on-one counseling, and an ongoing atmosphere of hope and concern.

(3) Housing Support (Finding a Place to Call Home)
Once we’re successful in helping kids get off the streets, the real test begins. If it takes several months to get someone into housing, it may take twice that long working with them in a housing environment before they feel fully capable and comfortable with taking care of themselves. Housing Support teams monitor each individual situations and help young renters build a life centered around their community. with support including:

- Assistance in locating and taking care of an apartment
- Life skills training: fundamentals of living alone and supporting oneself
- Follow-up plan after being placed in an independent living situation
- Clothes and Furniture
- Counseling and moral support
- Referrals for medical and dental support
- Weekly food baskets, housing stipends

(4) Mentoring (Inspiring Youth to Believe in Themselves)
During mentoring sessions, youth develop a goal plan and mentors help them prioritize and execute their plan. Mentors act as guides, role models, and accountability partners. The goals of school-based mentoring are to increase high school graduation rates and foster a love for learning. Through academic support, we develop participants into high school graduates. We provide life and career counseling, computer access, and homework help. By planning for self-sufficiency, we promote the exploration of vocational training, college, entrepreneurship, and gainful employment opportunities.

Every year since 1990, we have had the privilege of working with hundreds if not thousands of young people under the age of 25. We are operating our mission in 17 cities in 12 states and the nation’s capital.

StandUp for Kids is almost entirely run by volunteers who are fully trained and passionate about supporting this underserved population. Over the past 32 years, StandUp for Kids volunteers have performed over a million hours of community services, conducted more than 100,000 hours of counseling services, and provided more than 1,000,000 meals to homeless and street kids. Our dedicated volunteers and staff never lose sight of the potential of our youth.

We continue to build our street outreach programs so our volunteers can find and connect with more youth as well as outreach centers to welcome our young people and provide a safer space to land. Our school-based mentoring program help at-risk students graduate from high school.

Because our central responsibility is to our youth, approximately eighty-one cents from each dollar goes directly into programs that serve our youth facing and experiencing homelessness.

1n 2022, our Programs continued to expand their geographic reach and grew the types and levels of services they provided. These efforts resulted in more positive contact with young people and connect them with life-sustaining resources.

At the board level, we brought in financial, marketing, and legal expertise to augment the talent already at hand - positioning ourselves to drive the organization forward.

We all allocate our talents, judgments, and prospects for the best outcomes for our youth: a rewarding, though difficult task.

StandUp for Kids is reaching and providing life-saving services to an increasingly large percentage of homeless and at-risk youth.

Even though the world came to a halt as human interactions became confusing, scary, and even prohibited due to COVID-19, our team of executive directors/staff/volunteers who for so long have poured generous hearts into their work, stepped up once again. Some drop-in centers began to hand out food from their doorsteps while others kept their doors open by deeply cleaning facilities and strictly enacting health and safety protocols. A significant emphasis was placed on virtual mentorship by other chapters.

We expanded our housing support program. When our youth find housing or otherwise reach the goals they have identified as meaningful, we continue to provide support by helping them adjust to the real demands of maintaining an apartment, a source of income, their health, and other important markers of well-being.

In 2021, more than 6,900 youths found safety and connection in our Outreach Centers.

We were recognized and honored by Congress in the passing of a Resolution naming November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month while mentioning StandUp for Kids within its resolution. StandUp for Kids Programs across America participates in events to help raise awareness throughout the month of November. In past years, the White House has also recognized us on three separate occasions for our work within communities all across the United States. We continuously focus on youth homeless awareness by educating the public.

Homelessness among youth is an epidemic throughout the United States and will take the efforts of everyone. It is a continuous work in process.

Our goals:
1. Building new street outreach programs
2. Continue to expand our school-based mentoring programs
3. Multipying the placement of 18 - 24-year-olds into stable housing
4. Scaling the number of outreach centers nationwide that welcome our young people and provide a safe space to
land
5. Launch a Youth Entrepreneurship Program