The Ryan House Project
Fundraising campaign by
TheodoreTheodore Lacher
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US$145.00raised of $1,800.00 goal goal
No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities
Campaign Story
If not Us, then Who? If not Now, then When?
Seeking financial and community support for The Ryan House Project- support for youth in
transition within the Maine School Administrative District 60 communities (North Berwick,
Berwick, Lebanon).
“Josie is a pleasant and positive 16 year old girl who is just like the other students in
her classes. She is maintaining her school work but is having difficulty with attendance and
homework completion and there is a reason for that, one that is beyond the typical teenage
issues around motivation and procrastination. Josie was escorted into my office on a Friday
morning by a caring staff member. She was anxious and uncomfortable. She had not met me
before and here she was having to discuss with me her home situation. Josie and I sat down
and I asked what I could do to help her… she stated flatly that she had no place to go that
evening. Her parents were divorced, mom was no longer welcoming her home and her father did
not have a place of his own where she could stay. She had no options and asked me if there
was anything I could recommend to her. (I am the homeless liaison in our district and this
conversation seemed to be happening more and more frequently with students aged 14 and up. I
had a similar conversation with a young man just the day before.) I helped Josie problem
solve some of the issues facing her and we worked through- with the help of our guidance
counselors, her teachers and our administrative assistants- a very short-term solution to
her dilemma. But this is a problem that is facing our youth all too regularly and there are
not enough options for students to be in a safe and supportive living situation. What can
we do to change this?” -Homeless Liaison, MSAD 60
Like most communities throughout Maine, we are seeing an increased need for family and youth
housing in our district. There are a variety of reasons why the situations are occurring;
from the number of social services that are being cut due to state-level funding issues to
the increased concerns around instability and substance abuse in families. On any given day
there are children in the MSAD 60 community who have no place to call home. They may be
staying short term with family members, sleeping on a friend’s couch, or living in a
shelter. This problem is particularly challenging for teens, who are often not welcome in
family shelters. Often the family structure is broken and teens are left without support.
When children are homeless they face hunger, sleeplessness, lack of access to healthcare,
inadequate clothing, transportation challenges and potentially unsafe environments.. All of
these factors have a profound negative impact on school attendance and success.
Organizer
- TheodoreTheodore Lacher
- Campaign Owner
Donors
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