A lagging economy with a high unemployment rate is causing a growing trend of homelessness among teenagers in the Valley, one community outreach director said.Cathy Johnson, executive director of StandUP For Kids, a community service program that specializes in getting homeless youth in Phoenix off the streets, said homelessness among youth is on the rise in the Valley.
“Unfortunately, the demand has gone up over the last few years,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen more kids on the streets and they’re out here longer.”
The high demand has caused financial strain on the program in recent years, and food donations have been scarce lately, she said.
“We rely heavily on donations from the community,” Johnson said. “Otherwise, try feeding 100 people on $100 a month.”
Johnson, along with the program’s other 200 volunteers, walks along Mill Avenue in Tempe and in downtown Phoenix one-to-two times a week in search of people 21 and under.
The organization then provides homeless youth with nonperishable food items, clothing and guidance to get off the streets.
“It’s all about baby steps,” Johnson said. “It’s like riding a bike. Once the kid gets started, they just want to keep riding that bike and keep going.”
Sustainability sophomore Natalie Fleming, the street lead for StandUp For Kids in Tempe, and said the program is essential for the Valley’s homeless youth.
“We do anything we can to help them off the streets,” Fleming said. “We get them to find a job and get educated, not to mention give them something to eat. I’d hate to see all that go away.”
Fleming said she’s concerned about the financial security of the program, because the nutritional value of the food hasn’t been as good as it once was.
“It’s really disheartening for me to see what we have to give them to eat based on what facilities we have and what donations we have,” she said.
Fleming said the group is forced to give out nonperishable items like Fruit Roll-Ups, candy bars and ravioli because they don’t have the resources to refrigerate perishable foods.
StandUp For Kids’ only building is located in Phoenix and serves as the central hub for both Phoenix and Tempe. The organization has one vehicle and it’s used in Phoenix, she said.
As a result, Fleming has resorted to storing food and clothing in her dorm room at Barrett, the Honors College on the Tempe campus to make serving youth in Tempe easier.
“It’s the smallest room you could imagine,” Fleming said. “We’re still figuring out the details.”
Psychology senior Erin Barbanell became a volunteer for StandUp For Kids during spring break of 2007 after participating in an alternative spring break program through a class at Paradise Community College.
The service learning class, held in San Diego, the birthplace of StandUp For Kids, allowed Barbanell to experience the organization firsthand; she did street outreach in San Diego and joined the Phoenix branch upon returning.
“I fell in love with it,” she said. “It’s such a great feeling to help people.”
The ability to be a friend to someone who doesn’t have one is what Barbanell said she enjoys the most about the job.
Being a full-time student and worker is a challenge, Barbanell said, but she continues to donate the free time she has to StandUp because she said it completes her.
“They’re so thankful for us to be there for them,” she said. “Every time I go out, it refreshes me.”
Reach the reporter at dbjoraas@asu.edu
