Teen’s College Dream Back on Track

Eighteen-year-old Brian recognized the peril his family faced when his mother, Brenda, fell behind on rent for the two-bedroom apartment she and her three teenage children had called home since they were infants. Without any financial support from his father following a difficult divorce, Brian knew that homelessness was just a landlord’s knock away.

To keep his family from going under, Brian put away his dream to go to college, dropped out of high school, and worked two daily shifts at retail and labor jobs. Regrettably, it wasn’t enough. They were soon facing eviction.

Fortunately, a concerned Boston Public Schools teacher stepped in and referred Brian to FamilyAid. One of our housing specialists negotiated with the family’s landlord to allow for a short-term stay until she could find the family a more affordable apartment. Using the agency’s network of landlords, she found one that the family could afford, but it was on the other side of the city, away from their longtime neighborhood.

On top of the trauma that comes with a family breakup, the teens – including 14-year-old Aaron and 13-year-old Minny – were forced to deal with the challenges of adapting to a new neighborhood and distance away from their network of friends and community. Thankfully, FamilyAid’s two-generation (2Gen) approach to building family well-being was ideally suited for the situation. With a focus on simultaneously working with children and adults, our 2Gen approach centers on the whole family to create educational successes, economic prosperity and social capital connections that pass from one generation to the next.

While FamilyAid case manager Erika helped Brenda with a housing solution and finding a higher-paying job, a FamilyAid youth navigator focused on the needs of Brian, Aaron and Minny to avoid further trauma and best set them up for success. The navigator guided the two younger siblings to enrollment in a nearby youth arts leadership program focused on job readiness, healthy habits, self-esteem, and personal responsibility.

Our employment navigator, meanwhile, helped Brian enroll in evening classes to obtain his GED, while also helping him to advocate for a more-reasonable work schedule with his employers. Brian’s now back on track, dreaming about attending college again! Brenda, meanwhile, feels safe and settled in her new home, relieved that her younger children are happy once again, building new connections to her neighborhood and attaining important skills.