Avenues for Homeless Youth
To the Avenues Community

Dear Friends:

 

Thanks to your confidence and support, Avenues for Homeless Youth is expanding to support more homeless youth.  Please join us at an open house on May 23 to celebrate!  See details to the right.

 

Here is a snapshot of what's happening at Avenues:

  • Expansion of the Shelter and Transitional Housing Program in North Minneapolis is complete.  We have added 5 beds and now can house and support 21 youth at a time, up from 16.  Youth and staff showed great patience and enthusiasm as they lived and worked through remodeling of most of the house. 
  • Suburban Host Home Program is now 7 months old and keeps growing, thanks to tremendous community response.   We expect to have 15 host homes trained and ready to host youth in suburban Hennepin County by the end of the month.
  • GLBT Host Home Program has grown to 28 host homes available to host youth, the most in its history.  And the program is proud to be supporting other communities around the country as they explore adapting the host home model.
  • Minneapolis Host Home Program will be launched very soon, in collaboration with the Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness and Heading Home Hennepin.  We are hiring for the program manager position right now and recruiting volunteers to serve on the program's Action Council.  

We can't do our work without your support.  Please continue telling others about youth homelessness and our programs.  Thank you!  I hope to see many of you on May 23 at our open house. 

 

Deborah Loon 

Executive Director

  Give MN.org Charities Review
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 ExpansionShelter Expansion Complete!

Avenues was granted seed funding from the Otto Bremer Foundation to support expansion of its Shelter & Transitional Housing Program in North Minneapolis.  Avenues staff, volunteers and contractors worked tirelessly to ready the house for additional youth.  We now have an additional bedroom, new flooring, fresh paint on walls, new fixtures in the bathrooms, and new pantry cabinets.

We welcomed 5 new youth to the Avenues house just last week!  We are now set to house and support 21 youth at all times - up from 16.

Up next : We will paint several more rooms and put final touches on a few areas to ready for our 2nd Annual Open House on May 23.  With our new slate roof and landscaping spearheaded by a local volunteer, the house will look better than ever - and will be supporting more youth than ever!  We are excited to share it with all of you.

Avenues Staff : Ready to Serve! 

CapitolMinneapolis Host Home Program to Launch 

 

Avenues is launching a new program to provide safe, supportive transitional housing for homeless youth of Minneapolis in volunteer homes.  The Minneapolis Host Home Program will recruit and train caring adults who are willing to provide secure housing and support.  The matching process is youth-driven and the adults receive no compensation - two program features that really matter to the youth.  The host home experience gives youth the time, space and support to stabilize, address immediate needs, and work on their personal goals. 

 

Avenues is recruiting volunteers for the program's Action Council and is hiring a program manager yet this month.  Informational meetings will start this summer. Those who are interested in learning more about homeless youth and ways they can help are encouraged to attend. Details will appear on the new program page

 GLBT
GLBTHHP Logo  SHHP Logo
 

THANK YOU for a Very Successful Fundraiser!  

 

Special thanks to Senator Scott Dibble & Dick Senese, who co-hosted our annual GLBT Host Home Program fundraiser at the Midtown Exchange & Chicago Lofts March 10.  We had great attendance and the top floor party room buzzed with energy and excitement the entire evening.  Wine was generously provided by Solo Vino.  Photographer & designer Larry Barthel offered pro bono photography.  With the assistance of a challenge grant, we raised over $10,000 to support GLBT youth experiencing homelessness.  Thank you!

Shauen Pearce, a former GLBT Host Home Program participant, spoke at the fundraiser.  But she had lost her voice, so tried to whisper her comments to Program Director Rocki Simões to relay to the guests.
(Photos by Larry Barthel, Triquetra Productions)
  

Host a Homeless Youth in Your Home! 

 

We are seeking new hosts for these vital, community-based programs.  Hosting is a beautiful and effective way to share resources and support a youth experiencing homelessness.  Attend an upcoming informational session to find out more! 

 

Suburban Host Home Program Info Sessions  

 

Tuesday, April 17, 6pm 

Edina/Southdale YMCA
7355 York Ave S

Edina, MN 55435

 

GLBT Host Home Program Info Sessions 

 

Tuesday, July 31, 6-8pm

Thursday, August 2, 6-8pm

 

Midtown YWCA

2121 East Lake Street

Minneapolis, MN 55407

 

Minneapolis Host Home Program Info Sessions

 

Coming soon!  We will post details on the new program page. 

In this Issue   

 

Shelter Expansion Complete!  

Avenues Launches New Program 

Host Home Program Updates 

May 23 Open House   

Recent Supporters   

Connect With Us 

OpenHouse 
Avenues Open House & Tree Planting Ceremony

2nd Annual Avenues Open House

 

Wednesday, May 23

4pm to 6:30pm

1708 Oak Park Ave N
 Minneapolis, MN 55411 

 

Mark your calendars for this fun opportunity to see the newly remodeled and expanded Avenues house, meet staff and board members, and engage with other supporters.  This year, we are counting on Mother Nature to deliver to us sunny, pleasant weather - and not a swift tornado that impairs our patrons' ability to arrive safely!  Please stop by anytime 4pm to 6:30pm for light refreshments, entertainment, and a tour. 

SupportersThank You, Recent Supporters!

 

Organizations

 

Brimacomb & Associates LLC, Edina Realty Foundation, Faegre Baker Daniels Foundation & the GLBT Business Resource Group, First Data (donor match), Jungle Red Salon Spa & Gallery, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, RAAM Enterprises LLC, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation, The Travelers Company Inc (donor match), U.S. Bancorp (donor match)

  

Avenues General Donors 

 

Margaret & Bill Balsam, Renae & David Bottem, Colleen Fisher PhD, Shawn Gensch, Thomas Greenwalt, Sherri Henderson, Kirstin Hibbard, Cathy Hickman, Tom & Pam Hockenberry, Shelley Kline, Tony Kouba, Mike Lewis, Cynthia & Thomas Menas, Leigh Neuschwander, Kate Nilan & Chris Vaughn-Uding, Diane & Lyle Perreault, Jessica Rice, Kristine Riley, Jay Roble, Keith Rodli & Katharine Grant, William Satzer & Joyce Mitchell, Linda & Paul Schweppe, Tonia & Michael Shupien, Patrick Spearman, Susan White, Danielle Whitney, Eileen & James Wigley, Robert Wilkinson

  

GLBT Host Home Program Donors  

 

Tim Baldoni, Myrl Beam & Katharine Eubank, Areba Bennett, Scott Benson, Debra Bishop, Kathryn & Annette Briem, Kirsten & Michael Cackoski, Keith Cheetham, Matthew Crockett, Timothy Cronin, Cristine Daley, Amy Dawson, Senator Scott Dibble, Maryrose Dolezal & K. Taylor, Commissioner Gail Dorfman, Ron Engh, Rowan-Marie Fakhoury, Peter Gabrail, Brian Gilligan, Elizabeth Grayson, Elsbeth Holger-Ambrose & Subashini Ambrose, John Jensen, Tony Kouba, Tiffany Lane, Timothy Lapean, Antonia Lortis, Mark Mahon, Owen Marciano, Donna McNamara, Matt Mehring, William Mondale, Sally Newbury & Crystal Ruiz, Rebecca & Bill Nosan, Shauen Pearce, Judge David L. Piper, Vikki Reich & Luisa Pessoa-Brandao, Kit Replogle & Carl Levine, Brian Rider, Bruce Robbins, Kristin Schaefer & Kristen Brown, Lawrence & Patricia Schaefer, Michael Schulte, David & Renee Segal, Richard Senese, Deanna Shellito, Jason & Shireen Stone, Chief Judge James T. Swenson & Ann Swenson, Marney Thomas, Chuck Tombarge, Gerald Tyrrell & Kevin Reuter, Steven Wang & Laura Fredrick-Wang, Steven Warren, Jacqueline White & Marcus Waterbury, Dylan Woodward 

 

In-Kind Donations

 

Avalon High School, Deb Bishop, Erin Campbell, Charlene Cervenka, LaReina Dominick, Elk River United Church of Christ, Ron Engh, First Unitarian Society, Phyllis Kaiser, Nancy Kramer, The Minnesota Vikings, Second Harvest Heartland 

  

Volunteers

 

Avenues Board of Directors, Larry Barthel, Ron Engh, GLBT Host Home Program Advisory Council & Hosts, Globe University students and staff, Diana Kennedy, Clayton Roberts, Suburban Host Home Program Action Council & Hosts, Lisa Valley, Jason Weidemann

ConnectConnect With Us

 

Avenues for Homeless Youth

1708 Oak Park Ave. N

Minneapolis, MN 55411

 

612.522.1690 phone

612.522.1633 fax

 

Want to help?

 

If you would like to donate or have any questions, contact Mike Meyer: mike@avenuesforyouth.org

 

Visit: www.avenuesforyouth.org  

 

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