It was a great day to be a Rotarian but apparently not a great day to attend due to the weather! (FOURTEEN below zero--a new Cheyenne record low!) What an awesome opportunity, though, to hand Terry Williams a check for $6,843.50 for the Unaccompanied Youth Project - helping those motivated and focused HOMELESS youth trying to live out their dreams in the most difficult of circumstances.
These are not youth with police or court involvement - it is just simply not safe for them to be at home. They are experienced at couch surfing and living in their cars. Currently as a pilot project Holy Trinity lets them use the home that was formerly for the "Sisters" to house 4 youth, and watch them graduate, then succeed at UW, LCCC, the Marines and a new life course of their own.
They interviewed the youth to see what they saw as their needs - so simple compared to ours: A safe place to sleep, and being warm would be nice and maybe a little money to contribute to households where they sleep on the couch. There are small grant programs for immediate short-term housing (like a motel room) and a few dollars to contribute for food in the homes that let them in. Our contribution is towards the new Twin Home which will house 10 youth - 5 boys and 5 girls on each side from South and Triumph.
$120,000 has been raised towards this project, land donated by Safehouse and the general contractor & subs are donating a lot of their profits. If every unaccompanied youth could graduate, it would raise the graduation rate for Laramie County 1.7 - 2.2%. That is a LOT ROTARIANS! This is definitely a project to be proud to be a part of! Thank you all!