{"id":2336,"date":"2011-12-01T02:02:22","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T07:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-220214-918144.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=2336"},"modified":"2020-09-03T14:19:38","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T18:19:38","slug":"number-of-older-teens-seeking-help-soars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daybreakdayton.org\/number-of-older-teens-seeking-help-soars\/","title":{"rendered":"Number of older teens seeking help soars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If someone asked you \u201cWhat does Daybreak do?\u201d how would you answer?<\/p>\n

You might reply that Daybreak is the community\u2019s only emergency shelter for runaway and homeless teens.<\/p>\n

Of course, you\u2019d be correct. After all, that\u2019s how we began almost 37 years ago. And our shelter is still operating and helping runaway and homeless teens, 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

However, over the years, the faces of runaway and homeless youth in our community have changed. They\u2019ve grown older.<\/p>\n

Today, we still see young teens, but most youth coming to Daybreak for help are 17, 18, 19 or even 20 years old. They\u2019re unable to return home. They\u2019re too old for adoption and too young and inexperienced to live on their own. They really have no place to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These young people see themselves as adults\u2014after all they are 18\u2014but have no idea what it means to be a responsible, self-sufficient adult.<\/p>\n

Many come from households with incomes at or below poverty level and most have witnessed or been a victim of some type of abuse. They have limited educations, little or no work experience, few resources, and no family support.<\/p>\n

Older teens are the new face of Daybreak youth, and we expect this trend to continue.<\/p>\n

More and more 18-year-olds are being forced from their homes with instructions to make it on their own, and record numbers of youth are aging out foster care.<\/p>\n

They come to us looking for a place to sleep and something to eat, but those willing to stay and join our Daybreak family leave with so much more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a free ride. It\u2019s certainly not easy. They complain\u2014after all most of them are still teenagers\u2014but if we want them to mature into self-sufficient, healthy adults, we need to make sure they\u2019re educated, have suitable life skills, and are able and willing to work in the adult world.<\/p>\n

We can make that happen. Thanks to your support, we\u2019re able to break the cycles of poverty, homelessness, and crisis.<\/p>\n

Arlene summed it up perfectly when she said, \u201cI came to Daybreak for a place to sleep, and I left with a life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next time someone asks you \u201cWhat does Daybreak do?\u201d you can tell them Daybreak is in the business of changing lives and creating futures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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