“The vast majority of the youth that we serve are “transition-aged,” people who are considered adults by the law but whose challenges are unique to their age range. While “transition-aged” is defined as youth between the ages of 16-24, I’d like to speak today about the core of that range, people aged 18-22.

Most of these young people live at the intersection of a range of marginalized identities: they are teenagers, they are experiencing homelessness, they have mental health and substance abuse problems. They are disproportionately people of color or those who identify as LGBTQ+. They might be disabled or scraping by on benefits.

In our day-to-day work we see first-hand how marginalized these youth feel in their community: they aren’t considered for jobs they’re qualified for, they’re seen as a nuisance in public, they’re targeted by police as “troublemakers,” and they’re questioned over their presumed lack of motivation to “better themselves.” It’s our job to help them navigate these systems and create safe spaces for them to grow outside the glare of the public eye.

In my experience and that of my colleagues, this dynamic stands out in particular when transition-aged youth seek care in crisis situations. Specifically, I’d like to speak to some of my experiences with these youth when they’ve tried to access intensive mental health services in our community.

Last year I accompanied a young transgender woman to the hospital. We often offer this kind of advocacy and support role for folks in severe crises. For weeks this youth had been coming to our Drop-In Center reporting increasingly frequent episodes of paranoia and psychosis, accompanied by intensifying thoughts of suicide. As her crisis deepened, we made as many referrals as we could to mental health supports like counseling, medical care, advocates for survivors.

Nothing took. And then she came to Drop-In with obvious physical marks of the last night’s suicide attempt, and an insistence that it was a matter of time before she followed through with her suicide. Yes, she had a plan. Yes, we were both terrified.

At the hospital she was told in plain language that her reported mental health symptoms could not be true given the way she presented in that moment. She was told that her recent attempt must not have been particularly serious, and that her plan to kill herself did not merit further medical attention. She was discharged after about an hour with no discernable plan of care or follow-up.

I don’t doubt that this kind of invalidation added a new layer of trauma to her experience, and that she might be less likely to seek medical care when in a future crisis because of it. Despite her traumas, she saved herself. Somehow – amazingly – she traveled by herself to a different state, got herself admitted into an inpatient facility at a hospital, and stayed there for over a month. She was ultimately discharged and admitted into a stabilization clinic in Vermont before moving into a residential mental health program. 

And I will offer another brief anecdote. About when a 19-year-old, also transgender, reported to us that she was abducted for days and repeatedly assaulted before running away and making it back to the Drop-In Center. She went to the hospital, where she was seen by intake staff before getting overwhelmed and returning to Drop-In. When I went back to the hospital to support and advocate for her, she was scolded, told that she’d wasted hospital staff’s time by leaving, and that she’d have to wait longer because she left. It felt like a punishment. The forensic nurse who examined her was kind, but the damage was already done at the admission-level. She angrily refused most services and said that, if there were a next time, she’d skip the hospital altogether.

It’s really important to me that everyone here understands: I’m telling these stories not to condemn the hospital, any local clinicians, or any mental health providers who are doing an incredibly difficult job with limited resources, especially now. I understand that they have to make seemingly impossible choices, and I’m grateful for the effective care they’ve given to other Spectrum clients. I tell these stories only to show what my colleagues and I are seeing on the ground: transition-aged youth, particularly the most vulnerable, are met with skepticism and eye-rolls when they seek help in a crisis.

So, why is that?

Why are the transition-aged youth that we serve, who are among the most vulnerable folks in our society, treated like the lowest priorities in their times of need? In my opinion, the reasons that our youth aren’t taken seriously in these situations are the exact same reasons that they should be taken most seriously.  

It isn’t a secret that the trauma of youth homelessness takes a toll on people’s mental health. According to a 2019 study published by researchers at the University of Southern California, 12 percent of adolescents in the United States have considered suicide, while 4 percent have attempted suicide. For youth experiencing homelessness, the study shows that 46 percent of those surveyed had attempted suicide, and that 78 percent of those who had previously attempted would continue to make attempts.

That is for youth homelessness. What happens when you add more layers of marginalization? For example, UCLA cites the 2015 Transgender Study as reporting that more than 80 percent of transgender people have seriously considered suicide in their lifetimes, and that over 40 percent make at least one attempt. These rates are so much higher than those of the general population, it’s hard to fathom.

And to put these two populations together, again consider that youth homelessness disproportionately affects people who identify as LGBTQ+, as well as people of color. We at Spectrum see these trends on the ground.

What I’m getting at is – as far as I’ve seen in this work – the more traumatized you are, the more marginalized you are, the more likely you are to be turned away in your hour of need. And I think that the opposite should be true.

So how do we start to address this trend?

To start, I think we should go back to the basics. The practice of Trauma-Informed Care is widely embraced as a baseline tool to help client-facing staff approach people in crisis with knowledge and compassion.

It’s rooted in a classic maxim in social work: do no harm. To quote from an article on the practice published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also known as SAMHSA: “Trauma-Informed Care begins with the first contact a person has with an agency; it requires all staff members (e.g., receptionists, intake personnel, direct care staff, supervisors, administrators, peer supports, board members) to recognize that the individual’s experience of trauma can greatly influence his or her receptivity to and engagement with services, interactions with staff and clients, and responsiveness to program guidelines, practices, and interventions. Trauma-Informed Care includes program policies, procedures, and practices to protect the vulnerabilities of those who have experienced trauma and those who provide trauma-related services.” 

Put simply, it’s a good way of treating people with dignity and understanding when they’re at their worst. So no doubt, Trauma-Informed Care is a really helpful tool to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. But maybe we need other tools, too. 

We at Spectrum have recently been told two different things: that there are more than enough beds in the state for psychiatric patients of all ages, and then that there are not.  We’re not sure who to believe. But no matter who’s right, we do know that young people in psychiatric distress are turned away at alarming rates.

So what’s happening? What’s the disconnect? If the capacity does exist, why and how is the criteria for admission failing transition-aged youth? And whether the question is capacity or criteria, I think that we should start a conversation about diverting resources toward creating clinical programs that cater specifically to the needs of transition-aged youth. 

Why specifically, transition-aged youth?

For one, beyond the trends I’ve just mentioned, countless studies have confirmed that the human brain continues to develop and mature for years into true adulthood. It’s uniquely sensitive and fragile in this growth period.

It’s also widely accepted that youth trauma and homelessness can lead to long-term mental health problems and chronic homelessness in adulthood. Instead of accepting that as an inevitability, what if we set aside resources to meet the needs of this unique population, one whose future has proven to have a profound effect on all of our social and economic futures?

If we can take lessons from this pandemic – like diverting resources upstream, like focusing on prevention and mitigation before the current becomes chronic – then maybe we can start to make lasting change.

Let’s have a conversation.“

The post Are Vermont’s Institutions Failing Transition-Aged Youth? appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Happy Valentine’s Day, from all of us at Spectrum. Today and every day, we are so grateful that people like you open your hearts to our youth, to make sure they have a safe place to be, a supportive community, and the help they need to thrive.

Thank you for keeping our youth in your heart.

With love and gratitude,
The Spectrum Team

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Thanks to you, ten beds line the walls at the warming shelter in downtown Burlington. The shelter opened in early November and will close at the end of March.

Thanks to you, Spectrum opens a warming shelter for the cold winter months

Last winter was rough.

With shelters full across the region and a long waiting list for Spectrum’s 25 beds, we often had to turn young people away who needed somewhere to sleep.

“It was heartbreaking having to close the Drop-In Center at night knowing that half the youth who were leaving had no place to go,” says Allie Forward, our Drop-In Youth Coordinator. “To see them lose hope and energy and feel trapped as the weather turned colder and colder was just awful.”

“If I wasn’t at the warming shelter I would probably still be sleeping in the parking garage. It’s really been a blessing. The Burlington community has been really awesome too. People are always dropping off food at nights so we always have something to eat if we’re hungry.”

A true community effort made possible by you.

Over the summer, we looked at many locations where we might launch a shelter, but it was a visit to Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne that finally connected us to Father Lance Harlow, rector of the St. Joseph Co-Cathedral Parish in downtown Burlington, who agreed to let Spectrum use their Parish Hall this winter.

The Community Health Centers of Burlington, which runs Burlington’s adult warming shelter in the winter, gave us cots to use, and the UVM Medical Center volunteered to do laundry. The Argosy Foundation, Hoehl Family Foundation, Debra and Bill Gottesman, and other generous donors like you pitched in to fund it. The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf brings by food from its Good Food Truck at night, and St. Joseph’s parishioners have often donated dinner.

“I’m thankful for the warming shelter because if I wasn’t there I would be sleeping outside in the freezing cold. Before I was there I didn’t even have a sleeping bag, cause someone found it and threw it away when I left my camp. And I love the staff. They are awesome, fantastic and cool.”

The warming shelter is already full, but Allie says, “We haven’t had a situation yet where youth are leaving Drop-In without a plan. And, they’re excited to go to the shelter at night. We have great staff there, there’s a TV and they can watch movies. It’s cozy.”

“Just the basic need of having a roof over your head is the most important thing in order to get other parts of your life back together,” Will Towne, our Housing Manager, says. “Whether it’s employment, physical health, mental health, getting help with substance – it’s impossible to get those in order when you don’t have anywhere consistent to go.”

This article first appeared in the Winter 2018 Spectrum Sun, a print newsletter that is available online here.

The post Ten More Beds! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Photo by James Buck.

Today’s the day!

Detail Works is moving to 22 Avenue C in Williston, VT (effective today, January 4th). Our youth staff has been able to increase our volume, and thanks to supporters like you, we are quickly outgrowing our space for car detailing.

We’re excited to move in to a space with two other auto-related businesses.

Click here to make an appointment at our new space.

See you there!

Questions? Contact Mike at (802) 497-2296 or mcioffi@detailworksvt.com.

The post Detail Works is Moving! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

At our winter warming shelter for youth facing homelessness, the University of Vermont Medical Center and the Community Health Centers of Burlington have donated bedding and cots.

This winter, the Burlington Free Press and Vermont Catholic Magazine have shared the story of our winter warming shelter for youth facing homelessness, which opened in November in the Parish Hall of the Co-Cathedral of Saint Joseph.

The shelter opened this winter funded entirely by private donations, including from the Hoehl Family Foundation and the Argosy Foundation.

As Will Towne, our supported housing supervisor, put it, “We’ve been full pretty much every single night, which is great, the word is getting out, but it also goes to show that there’s a need for increased services.

“I probably don’t need to tell you how hard it was to turn people away last winter. The basic need of having a roof over your head is the most important thing, in order to get other parts of your life back together,” he added.

Writing in Vermont Catholic Magazine, Cory Fugere Urban shared this quote from Father Lance Harlow, rector of the co-cathedral and Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception parishes: “Each of us is committed to serving the homeless population during the cold Vermont winters, and I am hoping that our first year in partnership will help to save the lives of young adults who would otherwise find themselves in jeopardy.”

Thank you to our community of supporters for coming together to help our youth stay out of the cold this winter.

Read the Vermont Catholic Magazine article here.

Read the Burlington Free Press coverage here.

The post A place out of the cold for youth facing homelessness. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Our friends at Dealer.Com partnered with the incredible Lux Barber Shop to offer free haircuts for our youth.

Getting a haircut is often out-of-reach for youth experiencing homelessness, and this partnership to receive a professional haircut, for free, was an incredible gift.

Thank you!

Read more about the day in this article, published by Burlington Free Press.

Special thanks to Kate Vetter, Dealer.Com’s corporate social responsibility project coordinator, for organizing, and to Megan and Steve Incerto and the rest of the staff at Lux Barber Shop for donating your time and talents to make a difference.

The post How a haircut makes a big difference. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

We wanted to let you know that our winter warming shelter for youth opened its doors for the first time this week. And it’s funded entirely by people like you.

The beds in our residences and longer-term shelter, The Landing, were full all last winter, and they’re full now. And, like last year, all of the other shelters in the area are full, too.

As Will, our supportive housing manager, put it: “I probably don’t need to tell you how hard it was to turn youth away last winter.”

But this year, thanks to generous supporters like you, we will have ten more beds during our coldest months, from November through the end of March.

Here’s a message from one of our young people: “Thank you very much. Y’all are literally saving lives. I would be dead if it weren’t for Spectrum. Thank you for keeping low-income youth alive.“

If you or someone you know (ages 18-24) needs housing this winter, call us at (802) 864-7423 x325, or, after 5 PM, (802) 324-2934.

The post Open for the winter. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Resource Coordinator Liz and Peer Outreach Worker Lizz, from left.

Last week, we said goodbye to Liz and Lizz, two amazing staff members at our Drop-In Center. You two have had such a tremendous positive impact on our youth and our staff. We will miss you so much. Thank you for all you do, and good luck!

Here are a few photos of your amazing work here over the years:

Liz and Lizz, left and third from left, with Rep. Peter Welch in December 2016.

Lizz is ready for Halloween!

Getting silly at Pizza Friday!

Lizz and Liz, center, with the Drop-In staff in March 2017

The post We’ll miss you, Liz and Lizz! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

“I myself feel very guilty and a failure as parent because I knew this could happen to him. I talked to him about it several times…” she wrote. “But talking and a good family weren’t enough.”

You can read Mark’s response in the Washington Post here. And let us know your thoughts.

If you know a young person 12-30 who needs help with their addiction, our counselors can help. Call (802) 864-7423 x310 or click here to make an appointment.

The post The words you never want to hear a parent say appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

“When you call someone an addict, it reduces them to just that,” said Mark Redmond, our ED. “But it’s just one element of their being — they’re a mother or a brother or a student.”

Here’s the story from the Burlington Free Press.

Photo: Associated Press

If you know someone who’s struggling with substance use or addiction, our counselors can help. Call (802) 864-7423 x310.

The post Talking about addiction? Word choice matters. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.