Give Every Young Person Dignity and Safety This Winter
Yes, I want to help provide dignity, safety, and hope for youth experiencing homelessness.
Not too long ago, one of our Program Managers, Vernell, opened the door at Sasha Bruce House and found a young person standing there with no shoes. She had left them behind so her parents wouldn't hear her leave.
Vernell brought her inside, found her a pair of footies, and made sure she had something to eat. Within minutes, a house that could have felt like just another stop became something else: Familiar. Safe.
That's what safety looks like, up close. It's a person. But it's also something quieter: the door itself, the roof over it, the hot water for a shower after a long night. This winter, across our 25+ programs in D.C. and Prince George's County, MD, we're asking you to invest in both, the spaces where our young people live, and the people who show up for them there.
Dignity means a roof that doesn't leak, reliable hot water, a kitchen where someone can cook a real meal. Safety means staff like Vernell, trained and supported enough to meet a young person's fear with patience instead of judgment. One without the other falls short.
"What may look like defiance is often fear. What may look like indifference can be hopelessness."
- Vernell, Program Manager, Sasha Bruce Youthwork