BETHELEHM, PA - They meet homeless youth on their terms and now with the help of an extra $67,000 Valley Youth House is expanding its outreach program, The Synergy Project.
“Right now in the Lehigh Valley, we’re called zone ten in coordinated entry, it’s Lehigh and Northampton Counties, there’s 91 youth ages 16-24 right now that are considered street homeless on that list,” explains Street Outreach Coordinator for The Synergy Project, Tim Joyce.
The Bethlehem based non-profit recently received a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and state Housing Finance Agency worth more than 407 thousand dollars this year. With that money being spread across four programs; including the Synergy Project; a street outreach program designed to help runaway, homeless, nomadic and street youth.
“There’s also Synergy Projects in those counties; so we communicate with them from time to time but we mostly operate in Allentown,” explains another Street Coordinator, Julian Foster, “But we have Bucks County, Dauphin County and the Synergy projects there do similar tasks in different areas.”
The program offers survival supplies and assistance for youth under 21 years old to get the help they need to get off the streets; with street outreach coordinators getting out there and contacting at-risk youth on their terms and their turf.
“A lot of times where we make the first contact with the youth is through the synergy project. They are out on the streets meeting up with the youth where they are at, giving them emergency supplies whether it be food; they do a lot of case management, helping the youth get IDs, helping them get medical benefits, food stamps, making sure that they are on the housing list for any services that they need,” explains Michele Albright, Associate Director of Housing and Emergency Services at Valley Youth House, “Due to their experiences, trusting people is very difficult for them so meeting them where they’re at, going to them, it starts to build that relationship, that trust.”
Most times, coordinators find themselves spending their time canvassing for street youth in need in this Jeep; reaching out to youth who settle in places not easily accessible and assisting them find permanent housing or make their time on the streets safer. Street outreach coordinators like Julian Foster visit train yards, transportation stations, tent-cities and homeless camps to offer assistance to youth who sometimes refuse to go to shelters.
“Basic stuff that they need; food and water. So we’ll offer them food, offer them water, and then talk to them and engage them on a personal level,” Foster explains, “meeting them where they’re at and that helps make that personal link.”
Last year, over 16 hundred homeless youth relied on emergency services in our region with thousands more needing help, the Synergy project’s coordinators say youth homelessness is a growing problem in our region and finding stable housing for them remains a challenge.
“The average amount of wait, it’s called the community que, before being housed was 111 days, this is for youth that was housed. 13 youth were housed in 2018, 13. 111 days they were waiting for housing,” says Joyce, “Imagine that—If you’re living in a car in the winter time.”
Valley Youth House is always seeking monetary and gift donations including clothing, deodorant, canned food, tents, bug spray, gift cards and more. Those interested in donating to the project should visit Valley Youth House’s Website here.
Synergy Project
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