🎙️ Hey, Youth M.O.V.E. Colorado listeners! Here’s a sneak peek of Youth Empowerment Radio, Season 2—formerly Next Gen Combos! Get ready to hear stories that truly highlight the resilience and strength of our youth!
👋 Meet Carrie Harrison! She co-founded Oak Tree Youth Resources in February 2020 after a decade as a foster parent. Carrie saw firsthand how critical it is for young people aging out of foster care to have safe, stable housing. Starting a nonprofit during the pandemic wasn’t easy, but her team forged ahead, creating housing solutions for youth, including those coming straight out of incarceration. They went from not knowing much to housing over 120 young people in just four years!
🏠The Housing Need is Real! Carrie and her team discovered an overwhelming need for youth housing in Southwest Colorado, not only for those coming out of foster care but also for high school seniors with nowhere to live. Many are determined to stay in school, but without a safe place, it’s a huge struggle. Thanks to partnerships with schools and the Rural Collaborative, Oak Tree has been able to provide emergency and transitional housing so young people can stay on track.
🌟 Success Stories: Carrie shares a powerful story of a young woman who came to Oak Tree in 2020 right after incarceration. She had nowhere else to go but thrived in Oak Tree’s host home model. Today, she’s a certified nursing assistant and a traveling nurse, living her best life! For Carrie, stories like these fuel her commitment to support youth who just need someone in their corner.
📚 Learning about McKinney-Vento: Carrie recalls a challenging experience trying to enroll a homeless youth in high school. She faced pushback from a district that refused to enroll the youth without a guardian. After digging into the McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees educational rights for homeless youth, she worked with district officials to make sure this youth—and others like her—could attend school. Within days, the district changed its stance and updated their policies to align with federal law, making a lasting impact.
🔥 This season on Youth Empowerment Radio, we’re diving into more stories like Carrie’s, where resilience meets advocacy. Don’t miss it!
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