Last week, during a tour of our downtown Drop-In Center for homeless youth, a donor watched as all our kids piled into a van for a trip to the beach. The donor questioned why we would take youth on an outing, rather than focus on the immediate needs of housing, employment, and education. The tone of the question said more than the words – the donor thought it was frivolous. It occurred to me that he may not be the only one who feels this way. 

There are occasions when we take kids to the beach. We let them jump in the ocean, ride the roller coaster, and eat popcorn and cotton candy. For some, it is the first time they have ever seen the ocean. They have lived in San Jose all their lives, and never made it over the hill. 

To help disconnected youth become productive adults, the counselors at Bill Wilson Center work on building trust and developing positive relationships. Many street youth have run away from abusive households, had a bad experience in foster care, or are in and out of the juvenile justice system—these kids don’t trust adults anymore. 

These small outings are an opportunity to build positive relationships with these kids in a fun, non-threatening setting. We’ve seen great strides made when our staff is able to bond with our clients and show them that we are genuinely here to help.   

It isn’t an easy task to break the cycle of life on the street for these kids. Their only friends are other homeless kids like them. Adults have never done anything but put them into “the system,” when parents didn’t want them or couldn’t care for them. They were often abused by adults, robbed on the street and solicited for sex. To survive, they had to mistrust everyone.
 
We draw these youth into Bill Wilson Drop-In Center (www.billwilsoncenter.org) with the promise of food, clothing, laundry, and a shower. Then our counselors and outreach staff work on motivating them to make life changes and to believe in themselves—and then to take part in our services to get them off the street.

So, we add some fun to our mix of services, plan an occasional outing as a special treat, and give them a little bit of the childhood they never had.

Sparky Harlan, Executive Director/CEO at Bill Wilson Center, is a nationally recognized advocate for youth in foster care and in the juvenile justice system, as well as homeless and runaway youth. Under her leadership, Bill Wilson Center works to prevent poverty by connecting youth to employment, education, housing, and healthy relationships.