Homeless and runaway teens. Youth in crisis. Jackson Street Youth Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, gives youth a safe place to live and resources that get them on the road to a better life. Founded to fill a gap in local support services for housing homeless youth, we serve Linn and Benton Counties and rely on donations and partnerships from throughout the Corvallis and Albany areas.

Not uncommon, a young man entered high school overwhelmed and lost. Although he is qualified for special education support in for every subject, he still struggled with bad behavior in class. Wanting to make friends at school, he tried awkwardly and in vain to fit in with his classmates. Mom’s own personal difficulties just made everything worse.

Mom sought out Jackson Street’s help at first with shelter stays off and on and then for several months straight as she tried to cope with her own problems. One of our staff, Megan, began working with him and helped him get personal tutoring, job skills training and a mentor with our volunteers. Megan and he also worked on improving his grades and his behavior at school. We advocated for him and his family and helped him receive counseling and services with the mental health department to build a stronger support for the family.

Now back at home with his mom and little brother, his relationship with his family is greatly improved. Still utilizing Jackson Street for after school supervision and homework help several times a week, connected to his tutors and spending time with his new mentor, this shy and self-conscious youth is growing into a funny and engaging young man.

How do you prevent a youth from running away or being kicked out and becoming homeless?

It takes all of us.