August 12, 2019
The Y’s New Horizons II program is a life skills and career training program for youth experiencing homelessness but it perhaps more accurately should be characterized as a program for youth experiencing resilience. Now in its 21st year as a Y program, I continue to be amazed and inspired by the enthusiasm and strength of the tough-minded young people who show up for the program every day during the summer in search of a better life for themselves. I feel the exact same way about the dedicated Y associates who run it.
This past Friday, the 75 kids in this year’s program accepted their certificates of completion and the well-earned accolades of a cheering audience of friends, family, Y partners, volunteers and associates. These amazing young people from Baltimore City and County (the program is held at the Druid Hill Y as well as Dundalk and Landsdowne High Schools) deal with all the inevitable challenges of being a teen compounded by the difficult-to-imagine challenges of being "housing insecure," today's overly polite term for not knowing where you will sleep from night to night (a shelter, a friend's couch, transitional housing or really anywhere but a permanent home). With that as the backdrop, seeing and hearing from these enthusiastic, positive young people is a reminder about the power of inner strength, good role modeling, consistent support and intelligent interventions. Fortunately, they have all of the above and everything in their demeanor and presentations Friday showed it. We were inspired by the film and the impressive photo collages they produced, as well as the speeches shared by several of the young people. All of it kept pointing back to the same underlying theme: resilience.
https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/lifting-up-homeless-youth-in-baltimore-city-county.
Resilience was also the theme of our guest speaker, Dr. Tracey Durant, Executive Director of Equity for Baltimore City Schools. She shared her journey from having been housing insecure herself, to gaining her doctorate degree, to her current role and how she overcame many of the same obstacles her rapt audience were currently experiencing.
Finally, a big-time shout out to the amazing Y associate team (Charmayne Turner and Heather Naviasky, who provide leadership to the overall program; Marie Beasley at Lansdowne HS; Yvonne Savage and William Fleming at Dundalk HS; and Tasha Judkins, Charmika Burton and Daryl Grays at the Druid Hill Y) and funders (Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, Baltimore County Public Schools, Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development, The Family League of Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative, YMCA of the USA, and the Fund for Educational Excellence) who make this very special program possible. They are a ray of hope and inspiration during a time of deep uncertainty.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland