Spectrum Youth and Family Services
The Spectrum shelter helped me out so much. It led to so many other things. Spectrum worked with me to get a stable place to live. They helped me find a job. I got my GED. Without Spectrum, I don't know where I would be today. They saved my life and helped me open my eyes and realize how much was out there for me.
Street Outreach
Since 1996, the Street Outreach program has been making connections with homeless, runaway and vulnerable youth and encouraging them to come into the Shelter and access healthcare, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and education/vocational supports.
The Outreach team is led by a Lead Outreach staff person who is assisted by Peer Outreach Workers (POWS!). Building relationships with young people on the street starts by building trust and practical help. We do this by using direct and honest communication, meeting them “where they are at” and distributing basic needs like warm clothing, sleeping bags, hygiene kits, bottles of water, and food.
The Outreach program also receives funding through a Vermont Department of Health HIV Prevention grant. Through this initiative, we provide counseling, testing and referral for youth who are concerned about exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Additionally, the lead Outreach staff conducts groups using a nationally validated evidence based curriculum called “Street Smart.” Anonymous pre and post tests and other data are completed by each youth as part of these groups. The data is then sent for evaluation to the Department of Health on a semiannual basis. The Street Outreach program then uses this data for ongoing program evaluation and development.
The success of Spectrum’s Street Outreach program, as in all of Spectrum’s programs, comes from our ability to build and cultivate positive and caring relationships with youth.
In 2009 these items were distributed by our Street Outreach team to more than 650 homeless youth living on the streets: 2340 bottles of water, 204 hygiene kits, 2000 sandwiches, 3000 snack bars, 300 pairs of socks, 15 tents, 128 sleeping bags, 125 jackets, 156 pairs of gloves, 66 hats, 200 handwarmers, 45 tarps, 145 sterno cans.
Spectrum Youth and Family Services | 31 Elmwood Ave, Burlington, VT
Phone 802.864.7423 | Email info@spectrumvt.org