Youth shelters see extra strain during the holiday season
Employees at SCO Family Services Brooklyn Youth Center, who work closely with the homeless youth in our borough, say this time of the year can be especially hard for those they serve.
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With the holidays approaching, many people are thinking about where to spend them — but not everyone has a place to celebrate.
Employees at SCO Family Services Brooklyn Youth Center, who work closely with the homeless youth in our borough, say this time of the year can be especially hard for those they serve.
The doors to the SCO Family of Services Brooklyn Center are open 24 hours every day.
Annually, the organization serves more than 200 youth with case management services. However, they come into contact with at least 2,000 young people every year.
“We are the only drop-in center in Brooklyn for runaway and homeless youth,” said Rose Yosonia, the program director at the Brooklyn Center. “Youth who may find themselves in a crisis situation.
Whether it's food, clothes, a shower, or a place to sleep at night, Yasonia says no young person is turned away.
The center also provides lessons on financial literacy and mental health care.
“Some youth, they'll be coming here for months or years,” said Yosonia. “They see us as an additional support for them even once they've already obtained some stability. Many of our youth don't have that supportive adult in their life. And so us as a program, we tend to step in.”
For KJ, who walked into the center a year ago and has since received help to stay in a shelter, he says it’s been the blessing he’s needed.
“Before coming to SCO, I was sleeping in a stolen car in the neighborhood,” said KJ. “Ask for help, you will get it. Seek, you may find.”
An October report from the Advocates for Children of New York shows more than 150,000 city students were homeless last school year.
In Brooklyn, one in every eight students was reported homeless.
“It's a very large number that we should all be alarmed about,” said Yasonia. “However, I do think that there's potential where the number is even greater. What we see here at the Brooklyn Youth Center and at our residential programs is that many of the youth have been disconnected from school for many months or even years.”
While the holiday season can make an already difficult situation even harder, the organization is working to turn that around.
“This is like the first year that I'm not spending the holidays with my mother,” said Michiya, who currently lives in one of the transitional housing units provided by SCO. “I thought it was going to be worse, but I've honestly felt happier. I feel the most positive I've been in a couple of years, honestly.”
With 124 beds at their own ‘Independence Inns’ - the organization is doing everything it can to provide shelter for the city’s most vulnerable.
But even that is not nearly enough to meet the demand.
“In New York City, we currently have 800 beds for runaway homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 20. That does not meet the needs of New York City. We are at capacity almost every night. So much more funding and capacity is needed to really address this important issue.”
Despite the challenges, every bed filled and every warm meal shared can mean the world to a young person in need this holiday season.
The organization is currently holding a coat drive and accepting any donations of new or gently worn coats for the season.
