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.

Kristen, our Riverstone Counseling program manager, shares some tips for addressing the holiday blues:

The holidays are often touted as being a joyful time with family and friends. However, this is not always the case. Between juggling obligations, difficult family dynamics, unhappy memories, or simply changes to our sleep schedule or diet; increased anxiety and a depressed mood are common around the holidays.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to forgo the holidays altogether!

Here are some tips to try if you are feeling the holiday blues:

• Practice gratitude, finding ways to be thankful for what you do have.
• Try to maintain a healthy diet and exercise during the holidays.
• Reach out and spend time with supportive family and friends.
• Don’t play the “should” game. Try to not feel that your holiday “should” be a certain way, because this can just add more pressure during the holidays.
• Don’t overschedule and tire yourself. Remember to try and relax and get enough sleep every night.
• Try to maintain daily routines.
• Make a list of things you enjoy doing that can help you relax, such as listening to music, spending time outside, meditating, or watching your favorite Netflix show!

Family members can also help their loved ones through a difficult holiday season by keeping these ideas in mind. Try to be supportive, patient, and understanding, and offer your loved ones the space and support to practice the self-care they need.

What works for you? Share your ideas for self-care in the comments.

To learn more about Riverstone Counseling, or to request an appointment, click here.

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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.

Charlie and Winston Smith choose their bowls.

What follows is a note from our Executive Director, Mark Redmond.

Thank you to all who joined us at the Empty Bowl Dinner on October 12th.

I was awestruck by the compassion and caring you showed for our youth. I am so grateful that our young people can rely on you to offer a hand when the going gets tough.

As René said that night, “Spectrum is about creating that sense of family. It is about creating a sense of community and knowing that we are loved and supported. And that there are youth and staff and, also, wonderful people like you out here who are supporting us every day. And I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing.”

Thanks to you, we raised $68,400 that night—$15,000 from the giving board alone! And because of the generosity of all who donated food and services to the event, almost all of the money raised will go directly to helping our youth build their own success.

Thank you for being a part of such a great night.

With gratitude,

Mark Redmond

Empty Bowl volunteers and Spectrum staff at the end of the night.

The post Thank you for a great Empty Bowl! appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Governor Phil Scott cuts the ribbon with Detail Works employees, celebrating our official opening.

From our Executive Director, Mark Redmond:

I’m thrilled to let you know that last week was the grand opening of Detail Works, our car detailing business that helps our youth build skills to become successful employees.

As Gov. Scott put it that night, “They couldn’t accomplish all of this without all of your support.” And he’s right! Because of supporters like you, Detail Works is a reality. Thank you for believing in our youth.

“The biggest thing that I love about working here is knowing that each and every one of you supports all of us. You give us more support than we’ve had in our lives.” — Charles, a Detail Works employee.

From one happy customer this week: “They did a great job. My car hasn’t been this clean in years. Very complete and professional. Highly recommend this service.”

These appointments go fast, so make one now. And, while you’re there, check out our new website. As always, I’d love to know what you think.

Thanks,

Mark Redmond
Executive Director

The post Detail Works is open for business. appeared first on Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

From left, Riverstone counseling staff: Sunnie Lobdell, Kristen Vogel, Leslie Ferrer, and Will Kraman.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Spectrum Expands to Include New Riverstone Youth Counseling Program
Nationally Recognized Leader in Youth and Adult Services Launches New Service

BURLINGTON, VT (August 25th, 2017) – Spectrum Youth & Family Services, a nationally recognized nonprofit providing youth and adult services to the Burlington area, today announces the addition of a new counseling program: Riverstone Counseling. This new branch of Spectrum specializes in working with teenagers, young adults, and their families, to help youth identify and work with their strengths to help achieve their goals.

Since 1970, Spectrum has been an integral part of the Burlington community by supporting thousands of children and families faced with homelessness, mental health issues, violence, substance abuse and countless other critical issues.

Through services like mentoring, skills programs, supportive housing, multicultural youth programs, a health center, and more, Spectrum has helped to make sustainable, positive changes within the community.

The addition of Riverstone adds a youth-focused counseling program to Spectrum’s wide range of services.

Open to the public, Riverstone counselors are trained clinical mental health/social workers and substance abuse counselors who focus on a client-centered approach to help teenagers and young adults work through and overcome mental health and substance use issues.

Riverstone counselors specialize in helping clients with mental health and substance use issues using cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR for trauma, narrative therapy and other proven treatments.

“The goal of Riverstone Counseling is to be a mental health resource for our entire Chittenden County community, not just clients being served in other Spectrum programs,” said Sarah Woodard, Director of Development and Communications at Spectrum. “The addition of Riverstone adds another level of specialization and focus to Spectrum’s current services and allows us to provide personalized one-on-one counseling support to youth in our community who could benefit from counseling. The team at Riverstone is skilled in working with youth and young adults in crisis, trauma, or those who just would benefit from a therapeutic relationship.”

For more information about Riverstone Counseling, please visit: www.riverstonecounseling.org.

To make an appointment, email hello@riverstonecounseling.org, or call (802) 864-7423 x310.

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Check it out:

The post Spectrum Launches a Car Detailing Biz for Youth 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.