Joint effort provides safe harbor for
teens
By
Triveni Sheshadri
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
October
1, 2006
VISTA – For a homeless or runaway teenager, life on the streets can
be full of perils: drug and alcohol abuse, violence, prostitution
and predators – both sexual and otherwise.
Blanca Alvarez and her colleague
Guillermo Ortega, who are affiliated with the Oceanside
Collaborative Street Outreach Program, have become adept at spotting
teens at risk. On most weekday afternoons, Alvarez and Ortega scour
beaches, Oceanside Pier, parks and shopping centers near local high
schools.
“It's not hard to find them,” said Alvarez, an outreach worker for
Vista Community Clinic.
Convincing them that they should
seek help is another matter. Alvarez has the delicate task of
approaching the teens without intimidating them. She introduces
herself, hands them her business card and asks them to call her.
Teens who do call Alvarez find
there is help available to bring order to lives in disarray. In
follow-up meetings, Alvarez gives them information on how to get
back to school, find a shelter and make an appointment with a
doctor.
The Oceanside Collaborative Street
Outreach Program helps runaway and homeless youths living in
Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad. The program is a partnership between
YMCA Oz North Coast, Vista Community Clinic and StandUp For Kids, a
nonprofit group serving homeless teens.
The organizations have pooled their
resources to help teens take the first steps to get their lives back
on track.
While the YMCA offers temporary
shelter for teens for up to two weeks, the clinic provides an array
of medical services. At the StandUp For Kids' drop-in center in
Oceanside, teens find a safe place to spend the day, do laundry, use
the computer and make phone calls. They also receive counseling and
referrals.
The three-way partnership began in
2004, said Christine Whitworth, coordinator of the YMCA Oz North
Coast.
“We had always worked together,”
Whitworth said. “It was a natural fit.”
Whitworth said most homeless and
runaway teens are thrown out of the house or are fleeing an abusive
family situation.
“It's not the rebel without a
cause. They don't choose to shut out a safe and comfortable home and
live like the anarchist on the street,” Whitworth said. “At home
they are beaten, molested. That's why they are on the street. That's
the sobering fact.”
In addition to temporary housing,
the YMCA program provides counseling for teens and families for up
to eight weeks. A transitional housing facility serves young adults
ages 18 to 24.
Spencer Gooch of Vista Community
Clinic knows the pressures the teens face.
“They have to be worrying about
their next meal or if they are going to have a roof over their
heads,” Gooch said. “They have so much going on in their lives that
we have to make it friendly for them.”
Gooch said the goal is to reach
homeless teens as well as those in unstable arrangements such as
living in a motel or with a friend. The clinic steers them toward
medical services such as testing for sexually transmitted diseases,
drug and alcohol counseling, Pap smears, birth-control information
and routine doctor visits. They receive necessities such as a
toothbrush, shampoo and soap, as well as sweat suits, snacks and
gift cards.
To learn more about the Oceanside
Collaborative Street Outreach Program, go to
http://yfs.ymca.org.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20061001-9999-m1m01tfvis.html
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