All posts by Hearts & Homes for Youth

Harriet Tubman Emergency Shelter

PowerPoint PresentationOur Harriet Tubman Emergency Shelter was founded in October 2012 in a targeted attempt to reduce the number of young African American men being incarcerated in a juvenile detention center while awaiting a court hearing.

The Harriet Tubman Shelter continues to serve as an alternative to detention for young men (ages 13-18) for a maximum of 90 days prior to juvenile court hearings, before they return to their families, before they are referred to another of our group homes for continuing care, or as they transition toward independent living.

While in our care, the young men receive life skills training, healthcare, academic support, job readiness training, and job placement assistance. The young men at Harriet Tubman also receive clinical services, medication management, anger management, trauma/abuse focused treatment, grief & loss counseling, mentoring, tutoring, drug/alcohol treatment, and family therapy. We are dedicated to helping these young men realize their dreams “as if they were our own.”

We call the Harriet Tubman Shelter our “Overground Railroad” to freedom. The mission of our Overground Railroad to freedom is for each young man to learn and grow from positive experiences and opportunities in the shelter with caring adult mentoring to keep them on the right track toward constructive, productive and meaningful lives and futures.

QED Foundation provides $9,000 grant to Hearts & Homes

In early December 2014, the QED Group, LLC  provided a grant of $9,000 to Hearts and Homes for Youth through the QED Foundation as part of their long-term commitment to community engagement. Hearts & Homes is one of three non-profits in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area that QED identified as a long-term partner in its charitable giving approach that is focused on support locally.

QED President and CEO Jeffrey Singer said, “we share many of the same values and approaches as Hearts & Homes for Youth, such as poverty alleviation and improved health services. Through our partnership with Hearts & Homes, QED is able to strengthen our ties and increase our impact with the local community.”

Hearts & Homes is greatly appreciative of the committed support from QED. Since 2008, the company has provided Hearts & Homes with generous donations on an annual basis. In addition, over the past few years, QED has donated a number of computers, laptops, and printers for Hearts & Homes youth, which they have used to print resumes, do homework, familiarize themselves with technology, and develop technical skills. QED employees have also volunteered their time and turned out at some of Hearts & Homes’ events to support the youth.

“We are so fortunate to have the support of this well-respected, international consulting firm that shares our community values,” said Caitlin Buckley, Hearts & Homes’ Director of Community Relations. “We look forward to continuing and enriching this partnership with the QED Group, LLC.”

Hair Cuttery donates 300 hair style certificates!

Hair Cuttery has a long history of charitable giving, with Hearts & Homes and other local and national causes. Once a year, Hair Cuttery launches the Share a Haircut campaign to benefit the underprivileged. For every haircut purchased on February 2nd or 3rd, a free haircut certificated was donated to a homeless or underprivileged member of the community through local social services organization.

In 2014, thanks to everyone who came out for the Share-a-Haircut event at Hair Cuttery, 200 hairstyle certificates were donated to Hearts & Homes. This year,  Hair Cuttery sent 300 hairstyle certificates for Hearts & Homes youth!

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Often the boys and girls at Hearts & Homes ask if they can get their hair cut or styled by professionals. Thanks to Hair Cuttery, all of the children and youth in Hearts & Homes programs will get a fresh look to bring to school or work! Nothing builds confidence more than feeling good about your appearance.

Hearts & Homes appreciates the support from members of the community who came out to share a haircut with Hearts & Homes youth. Hearts & Homes also appreciates Hair Cuttery for continuing to give back to the communities they serve.

LGBT Foster Parent Information Session!

408692b836aac4643247b13719bfa3fe_XL On Wednesday, January 28, 2015 from 7:00pm-9:00pm at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center in Columbia, MD, Hearts & Homes for Youth, Equality Maryland, and PFLAG Howard County jointly hosted an Information Session for potential foster parents, specifically in consideration of the needs of LGBTQ foster youth.

The event featured a panel discussion with former foster youth Michelle McLeod who discussed her experiences in foster care, current foster parent Bernadette Joyner who spoke about her experiences fostering youth, and HHY’s Maureen Rodgers who talked about how to become an HHY foster parent!

Are you interested in being a foster parent? EQMD, PFLAG, and HHY will host another foster parent information session soon in Montgomery County, keep checking back for more details!

Check out coverage of the event at Baltimore Out Loud and Washington Blade.

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A poem about Martin Luther King Jr.

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40 Years Through the Wilderness
By N.W.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
was a man with a dream

He grew up knowing the world
was racist and mean

He always did so well in school
this developed him into an academic tool

He was an Activist by day and a Reverend by night
he had to be… when things didn’t go right

His house was bombed when his wife and kids were there
how horrible, the agony, pain, despair

All the while, he gave promises of civil rights
it was for equality and the investment of life

One hot day, the month before May
a man by the name if James Early Day,
took our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. away

40 years through the wilderness

 

A Reflection on MLK

imagesWritten by K.S.

I admire Martin Luther King Jr. because of what he believed in and how he fought hard for all the things he believed. He conquered a lot of things in his life and he has educated a lot of people. He also got his point across without using violence because all he really wanted was world peace. He touched many peoples hearts and changed many peoples minds and he made people believe that the world could be a better place if we all came together and be united as one. He never gave up even though many times it could have cost him his life. He has made a huge impact in this word and he will always be remembered by everyone and all the generations that are to come.

He was a very powerful man and spoke a lot of words of wisdom, for example, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” This is one of my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quotes because in this quote he is relaying a powerful message and what I get from this quote is that no matter what may try and get in your way or whatever obstacles you may face in life, don’t give up, just keep moving forward in life.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most powerful black men in history. He only wanted to gain world peace and to see the blacks and whites come together as a whole instead of seeing them fighting with each other. He also believed that one should not hate the other as they hate them. They should just show them love because showing someone love who has hate in their heart may get rid of the hate they feel toward others. And that reminds me of his quote, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man and his name will always be praised.

What does Martin Luther King Jr. mean to you today?

10303815_10153030538727112_496461201850301520_n-300x219In January we invited HHY youth to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr and what he means to them today. They also read and reflected on some of his quotes. Here are some responses the youth shared:

  • I think it is horrible what is going on in the nation right now. All of the racism and hate crimes. It makes me want to scream! We can’t let Dr. King to have died in vain! He once said, “Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people, but we will also have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.” Everybody needs to be aware of what is happening in our country. Everybody should speak up, somehow. Don’t let the King have died in vain. RIP Dr. King.
  • Martin Luther King Jr was telling us that he wish for us to be nice to each other. I fell like MLK is trying to tell us white and black people to get along for once.
  • If it wasn’t for MLK then we wouldn’t have this freedom today and we wouldn’t have a good education.
  • Just let people be free because nobody in this world is better than anybody, so everyone should be treated equally. Everybody has their flaws so just let everybody be free and everybody should just be peaceful.
  • Martin Luther King, Jr was a civil rights leader. If he lived today, he would be mad at the world. He did not fight for equal rights only to see black people getting locked up and getting shot.
  • Martin Luther King, Jr fought so that minorities would have the opportunity to go to college, and now we have a black president. But African Americans are not always using the system* (*they were referring to the opportunities granted them) to benefit and further themselves.
  • Comment on the quote: “Darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that.” – The resident who chose this quote explained how though we may all look different, we are all humans who bleed the same blood and we need to support each other and focus on the similarities between us.
  • Comment on the quote: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – The resident who chose this quote agreed that a man’s true colors show when he is placed in tough positions. He said, “MLK was placed in many tough positions, including several attempts to take his life, and he maintained non-violence in the face of the aggression and hatred. MLK was a man of integrity. He was human and he must have wanted to get back at the people who meant him harm, but he chose not to.”

Are you ready to be a foster parent?


gift-of-loveHas the idea of being a foster parent crossed your mind? Do you want to make a difference in a child’s life?

Hearts and Homes for Youth offers two foster care programs that allow you to provide temporary care and custody to youth dealing with emotional difficulties – our Family Ties Therapeutic Foster Care Program and our Damamli Teen Mother Program, which serves teenage mothers and their children.

Fostering a youth or teen mom will be hard work, should you decide to accept the challenge! Yet what better gift could you give, than a stable and nurturing home! You can open your home to a foster youth where deep scars have an opportunity to heal and where a young person can be given the tools that they need to live healthy, productive lives!

If you are interested in being a foster parent and providing such a special gift to a youth in need, come learn more at one of our orientations! For more information, contact Maureen Rodgers at 443-864-5632 or  mrodgers@heartsandhomes.org

A Poem called “Home”

We are glad to share a poem written by one of our youth when a group of them met with Carol Peck from Poet-in-the-Schools to learn about the art of writing poetry. This poem we are sharing today was written by A.S.!

HOME

The back of my family,
The king of my throne,
The guard of the castle,
The one on my own;
I live in a world that most never see,
The place that you say never was or will be;
A land full of love filled with flowers and trees,
Mystical beings, nymphs, hobbits, and fairies,
Eating berries so sweet,
Prancing through my world on feet;
If I see a man, he fills me with terror,
I’ll soar towards my home, to better weather;
I dream of a day when the world will see
The way to live is here with me;
As I glide through the air with my wings full and rare,
My horn shimmering brightly with a golden glare,
I see the place where I’ll be forever and on,
My beauty, my home, my beloved Avalon.
— A.S.