Avenues for Youth

Join us this Sunday, January 12 at Wandering Leaf Brewing Company for Drag Queen Charity Bingo from 1:30 - 3:30 PM. Thank you to our wonderful host, Sadie McKay!

Thank you to the Pride Allyship Committee from Thomson Reuters. They cooked yummy tacos and all the fixings, including fresh guacamole at Minneapolis Avenues! The youth in the house loved the meal. We are so grateful for the long-term support of the Thomson Reuters Pride and Allies groups. 💞

Thank you for making 2024 a great year! Your financial support, your helping hands, your advocacy, your labor, and your deep care and compassion matter. You care about young people, and you care about your community. Without you, nothing we do is possible. As we close out the year, help set up Avenues for success in 2025 with one last gift to ensure we have the resources needed for the new year. GIVE ➡️ https://loom.ly/j7OGhfs

Each night in Minnesota, over 4,000 youth experience homelessness. As a state, we do not have anywhere near enough beds to keep all youth safely housed. The need for our work has never been greater, which is why the last year has been full of growth for our organization! Some highlights include: 🎓We expanded educational and career support for youth across all programs. In June, we celebrated with five youth who graduated high school. 🏘️Amid a record-high demand for family shelter in the metro area, our Young Families program doubled in size and now serves 24 youth-led families. Throughout the year, nine young parents exited our Young Families program, providing safe and reliable homes for their little ones. 🌿We grew our mental health and wellness supports to address increased mental health needs among youth experiencing homelessness. 🔑One young person even purchased their own home after working and saving up during their stay at Avenues! Of the youth who exited our programs last year, 75% transitioned to safe and stable housing. Every day, young people at Avenues are achieving incredible personal growth. Read more about our year of growth in our annual report! https://loom.ly/AHx3WC0

Thank you to everyone who made this year's holiday program a success! Generous partners sponsored holiday gifts for all 70 youth and the children of young parents! Volunteers and staff sorted, wrapped, and delivered the gifts throughout the week. These gifts were personalized based on the youth's wish lists and are sure to bring a smile this holiday season. Thank you to our dependable partners, OUT at Comcast for providing wrapping supplies, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church for hosting our wrapping event, Emerson for sponsoring all gifts for ConneQT youth, and Lakes Sotheby's International Realty for hosting a gigantic gift card drive! We rely on community support to ensure that every young person staying at Avenues gets to experience a warm and festive holiday season! ✨❄️ Thank you for helping to make this holiday season warm and bright for every young person at Avenues!

Each week, grocery delivery day is an all-hands-on-deck experience where staff and youth unload and stock produce, proteins, grains, and snacks for the whole house. It takes a lot of food to keep twenty young people fed and fueled as they navigate their education, career, and housing goals! Unfortunately, soaring costs of essentials such as food and basic supplies have made it more challenging to meet the need for youth shelter. You can make a gift today at: https://loom.ly/j7OGhfs

Brooklyn Avenues is looking festive! Staff put up cheerful decorations of lights, stockings, trees, and more. We're so grateful to have a caring team that makes the houses really feel like home. We're wishing you a safe and gentle holiday season!

Avenues staff celebrated the holidays with an ugly sweater contest, a white elephant gift exchange, and delicious lunch from Pizza Luce. There were some popular (and unusual!) items in the gift swap including a dancing crab and a screaming goat! Which festive holiday outfit is your favorite?

We are committed to offering not just a bed, but a safe and affirming environment where every young person can find hope and a path to a brighter future. To partner authentically with youth experiencing homelessness, it requires community support from dedicated partners like you! Will you make a gift to help youth experiencing homelessness achieve their dreams? https://loom.ly/j7OGhfs Your contributions have been instrumental in bringing us this far. In the past year, youth have found housing, maintained employment, and worked towards their dreams. Together, we are affirming the intrinsic value of every young person, no matter where they come from or what they have been through. Your gift recognizes the limitless potential that lives inside every young person at Avenues for Youth.

“One of the most common experiences for a new young person at Avenues is to simply sleep for the first day or two. The experience of homelessness is highly stressful, uncomfortable and often dangerous. This partnership between BOKSER and Avenues provides these youth with space, peace and comfort so they can rest.” Thank you to BOKSER for providing high-quality linens for youth in Avenues programs and to Lavender Magazine for this great story! https://loom.ly/F5RsZ2U