Melissa Reynolds and Patt Sweeney from Redwood Community Action Agency’s (RCAA) Youth Service Bureau (YSB) were the guest speakers at last week’s Garberville Rotary Club. RCAA has received a three-year federal pilot rural demonstration grant to provide satellite shelters for kids 12-18, with a portion of this money being allocated specifically for the Southern Humboldt area. There is currently a shelter for homeless teens in Eureka.
Reynolds, who is Southern Humboldt’s YSB representative, said there are 20-25 kids in our area who are at risk of being, or who are, currently homeless. Many of these are runaways for some reason or another. This grant will allow the YSB to establish rural host homes for these children within the Southern Humboldt Community.
Reynolds said, “I’m a strong believer of keeping youth in their communities. We would like four host homes, which may be needed once or twice a year, or possibly more.”
Those interested in providing temporary shelter for these kids would be required to attend a training program for four to six weeks for two hours a week. There are other restrictions and qualifications a family would have to meet to become a host home. The maximum stay allowed in any one home is three weeks.
YSB Program Manager Patt Sweeney said that although the limit is three weeks, they would not throw a child out onto the street. They would seek other alternatives. He said that Child Welfare and Humboldt County Mental Health will mostly likely also become involved.
Reynolds said she is very fortunate to have an office in the South Fork High School Library and considers it a great location. She said although the housing grant is only available for kids 12-18, she offers counseling services to those over 18. Once a child turns 18, they are legally an adult and do not fall under the Community Care Licensing guidelines. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need help and she is there to assist them.
She said her office is like a mini resource center and she would never turn a young person away just because they are over 18. There are a lot of Southern Humboldt youth living on their own already. They may be in a household where they are not only taking care of themselves, but also their siblings, and sometimes even their parents.
Out of the 20-25 youths in our area in need of housing, 5 or 6 are not in the Southern Humboldt School system. Reynolds stressed that she tells these kids that education is the key to them staying off the streets and out of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She said she can’t stress the need for an education more. It is vital to their survival and success.
A number of these kids come from unstable circumstances due to drug abuse, especially methamphetamine, and poverty. They don’t all come from low-income families as many assume. Reynolds said she has caseloads from varying economic levels.
When asked how the kids find her, she said, “It’s definitely a ripple affect.”
She said she might give her card to one person who then passes it on to someone else, who passes it on to another person. That last person may be the one who eventually seeks her out, or they may recommend her to a friend. In the end, the most important thing is that these kids know that she is there to help them.
Reynolds also said that communication between these kids and their parents is key. However, sometimes the parents are either unwilling or unable to be part of the process. That’s when it is imperative to find a safe and secure place for these kids to be.
South Fork High School student Forest Tresidder said that Melissa has been there for him when he needed help. He said he currently spends each night in a different place and that she has been providing him with food, clothing, a sleeping bag, and other bare essentials. He said he can’t thank her enough.
If you are interested in providing a rural host home for our area’s youth, please contact Melissa Reynolds at 923-1147, 498-0927, or at South Fork High School in Miranda.
REDWOOD TIMES PHOTO BY SUSAN GARDNER
Garberville Rotary Club host Susie Mattila, left, presents a book to be donated to the Garberville Library in the name of Redwood Community Action Agency’s Youth Service Bureau (YSB). Also shown here are Southern Humboldt’s YSB Youth Caseworker Melissa Reynolds, South Fork High School student Forest Tresidder, and YSB Program Manager Patt Sweeney.
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