Posts Tagged ‘denver homeless youth’
Last week, we sent out an email letting our supporters know that we were running extremely low on food and socks. Within a week, our pantry and sock crates were overflowing!
This picture is the food from just one church, Eastern Hills Community Church in Aurora, who donated.
In addition to Eastern Hills, we would also like to thank Englewood Fist Assembly of God, Grace Community Church, Boulder County Community Church, Kevin and Carol Bohren, and all the individuals who gave so generously to help meet our needs to help the homeless and at-risk youth of Denver!
It is rare that homeless kids get brand new clothes to wear, but thanks to Shane and Patty Rose of Utah, they will! Take a look at all these new clothes for the homeless youth of Denver!
When I first got involved with Sox Place almost 10 years ago, our kids were primarily of one sub-culture, the gutter punk. They were anti-government, anti- law, anti-cop, anti-authority, and anti-pretty much everything that got in their way of drinking, fighting, and having “fun.” We still have some of those kids, but now, the kids that come to Sox Place are so diverse that we see many different attitudes and mindsets. They are from different backgrounds and ethnicity.
One major change that I have seen that is positive is that our kids don’t really consider it cool to be living on the streets anymore. In previous years, you got most of your streets status by how long you had been homeless. Now many of our kids want desperately to break the cycle of homelessness, joblessness, and the street lifestyle they are living.
This can be quite a daunting task for many of our youth. So many of them have never been taught the basic life skills that you and I can take for granted. No one was around to teach them how to get up and be on time, how to accept direction and correction from authority, how to look presentable for a job interview, and how to manage the little money they get. Even basic personal hygiene that we were taught as children is foreign to them. It’s easy to write many of these things off as common sense, but when the example your parents give you is violence, welfare abuse, food stamps, taking advantage of the government disability program, and drug and alcohol abuse, common sense becomes not so common for them.
Many of our kids are realizing this is no way to live, and that is very encouraging for me. Therefore, we are adapting our services to include the “Streets2Stability” program. This program is where we teach these basic lessons through a three month internship. We are also helping in the job hunting process, giving bus fare and clothes that are appropriate for interviews.
One of the critical ways you can help these kids who are trying very hard to get off the streets is to let us know if you have any job leads; that would be invaluable. No matter what kind of work it is, we can try and fit one of our youths for the job. We also have a 5280 program where you can commit to donating $52.80 a month to help pay for more “Streets2Stability” participants and other services. Sometimes it only takes one person willing to take a risk for these kids for them to rise to the occasion, and break the cycle.
These are exciting times here at Sox Place and hold a lot of hope for our kids, as it is now they who want to make a change, not everyone around them wanting to change them.
-Jordan
We want to take the time to give a shout-out to the Centennial Rotary Club for the donations of cold-weather sleeping bags. So, here’s a big THANK YOU from the kids at Sox Place! Sleeping outside in the cold is never fun, but it makes it a little more bearable with these:
Sox Place is always thankful for those who give time, money, and needed items. We couldn’t do it without them!
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” — T.S. Eliot
For all of us, it is often easy in life not to take risks. Easier to stand by and watch than to put our necks on the line in an attempt to change a certain situation. Or maybe some of us are great “dreamers” but we have a hard time, when it comes time, to step up and follow through with our dreams because of fear. No matter how great or miniscule, we deal with risk, everyday all of the time. There are statistics that can be looked at to evaluate the amount of risk involved in any given situation to either encourage people or deter people from doing things.
Sox Place is an environment all about taking risks. The only reason Sox Place even exists today is because of some very monumental risk taking. If Doyle had not taken a HUGE risk, over a decade ago now, and moved his family and entire life to Denver, Sox Place would not be here. If the people who continuously donate their time, money, and prayer, Sox Place would not survive the way it does today. If our staff members did not step out and decide that they would rather work with the kids at Sox Place, doing this ministry, rather than any number of career choices, Sox Place would not be what it is today.
People will often tell you that working with the type of kids that come to Sox Place is a risk that is just not worth taking. People will say that the risk is so much greater than the reward. However, isn’t this what is so amazing about Jesus and his ministry? Whether it is the story of the woman at the well or Jesus choosing to use fishermen as the men who will forever change history through his ministry, he leads a great example of what it means for us to be risk takers.
Lately, this is an issue that God has been laying on my heart in a huge way. One thing we always say at Sox Place is “We need to give them the best we’ve got.” We may not always have the best food for the kids or the sweetest new clothes but we always give them the best we have. It is so important for our ministry that this is also the case in all of our interactions with our kids, because they are worth the risk. God doesn’t call us to be complacent or to just try to meet the needs of the kids that walk through our door. God calls us to daily take risks and put our necks on the line for the people we serve.
As Jesus showed us how to be risk takers through his ministry, so can we show our kids how to be risk takers through ours.
- Sam
The New Year has already come with challenges. We lost one of our “kids” a few weeks ago and participated in his funeral two days ago. As always, when one of them dies they all go into a period of self-destruct in some fashion or another. For most it’s drugs and liquor, some it’s violence, others pulling away from the relationships with people who love them, and some it’s all the above. As a staff, and as many of them our friends, we try to be there for them any way we can through this process.
Last night I drove across town to bring supplies to several of our kids including the wife and best friend of Chuck, the guy who died. They had managed to find an apartment to stay in for a couple of days. One of them that I am particularly close with called me yesterday and asked if I could bring him clothes, some groceries, dog food, and other stuff so they could stay in the apartment. I understood and was happy to do so, knowing that this will give him and the others time away from the drama of the streets and more time to grieve. As I drove home, I thought about how difficult it must be to deal with these hard times in life, like death of a loved one, when you don’t even know where your next meal is coming from or how your going to stay warm so you can sleep out in a snow storm.
As I began to pray for them, I started to think about all the kids I have seen die over the last nine years I have been involved at Sox Place. So many good people have lost their lives to these streets. I pray that Sox Place can remain a cornerstone in these kids’ lives, that we can be here not only to provide a meal, clothes and other physical needs, but to also be a friend that can talk with them and influence them in a positive way. To show them there is more out there than hardship, that they can have peace and grace and love. Let us be examples of that.
- Jordan
As I stood on the tile beside the door, getting my mind ready for the blast of cold and snow that I was about to encounter, I looked down at my boots. My ugly boots. My old, dirty, ugly boots. I’d had them since high school – about ten years now. Ten years is a long time to have a pair of shoes when you’re only 26 and female. They were a sort-of faded black – I couldn’t remember if they had always been that color or if they had faded over time – with dirt on the top of one of them that I couldn’t seem to get off. They were size almost-too-big. Clunky was a good description for them; I sounded like a 300 pound drunk man when I walked across the floor. And they were plain. Completely plain, except for the drawstring around the top to keep the snow from getting inside. They were my old, dirty, ugly boots.
Trekking across the yet-to-be-plowed parking lot toward my bus stop, through snow drifts up to my ankles, I was almost thankful for those ugly boots. But just almost. When I sat down on the bus, my feet were dry and warm, which is important to a cold-natured person such as myself. But they were still my ugly boots. I couldn’t help but frown down at them, no matter how subconsciously thankful I was for unfrozen toes.
With my feet under my desk at work, I didn’t have to think about my unsightly boots too much. I went to work, getting done what I had planned to finish that day in no time. This made it so I could help out in the drop-in center for most of the day, hanging out with the street youth that come into Sox Place. Between getting warm socks for the kids and cleaning up coffee spills – cold, numb hands don’t attach well to warm cups of coffee – it was easy to ignore the sound of big-foot coming from my own boots.
Not long after we opened, a girl came in almost unnoticed among the extra-large crowd that Sox Place attracts on snowy days. But she stood out a little more than the others – at least to me. The coat she had on looked warm enough, but it was obviously too small. Small tufts of blonde hair poked out of her too-tight hood just enough to see that neither a comb nor shampoo had touched it in weeks. Her nose was running and her face was red. Her lips looked as if she were to try to smile, they would start bleeding in about ten places. She had her sleeping bag draped over most of her body so as to keep the flying snow away as she walked. The legs of her jeans were wet half-way up to her knees from being dragged through slush. And her non-waterproof boots looked as if someone had soaked them in a bathtub of ice water overnight before giving them to her to wear.
She came up to me and asked, barely audible, “Can I go downstairs to get shoes and some dry clothes?”
“Absolutely,” I responded, as I led her to the donation room. I pointed to the piles of shoes and coats while she removed the load from her back.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice a little stronger. “I got here as fast as I could. My feet are so cold. I tried to run, but I couldn’t feel my feet. I almost fell.” She looked down at her sloshy boots and took a step. “Oh! They hurt so bad!” She walked closer to the shoes. “Oh, they hurt!”
I didn’t know what to tell her. Frostbite was the first thing that came to my mind, but I didn’t want to tell her that. Surly she didn’t have frostbite. “Maybe you should take off your wet socks and shoes, and I’ll go get you some dry socks.”
She began to take off her shoes, and I went upstairs to grab some thick socks. When I came back, she had picked out some boots in her size (good thing she had small feet – they were the last pair of boots we had) and was headed toward the pile of coats, cursing her feet as she went.
I handed her the socks, and she sat down with a curse, “They hurt so bad! Why would they hurt so much?”
I looked at her bare feet as she rubbed them between her hands before putting on the socks. They were wrinkled, as if she had been in the shower too long. And red. So red it looked like she was overheated, but I knew it was just the opposite. “I don’t know,” I answered. “Maybe it’s like after you’ve been playing in the snow, then you come inside and wash your hands in warm water, and it hurts a lot because your fingers got so cold.”
She didn’t respond to my answer. I’m not sure if she thought it was as dumb as I thought it had sounded or if she was thinking about it. Either way, she finished her business and put on her new-found, fitting coat and warm, waterproof boots.
As I watched her toss her old, soaked boots to the side, I couldn’t help but look down at my own feet. Maybe it was the lighting in that basement or the fact that I was standing on a crumbling concrete floor, but for some reason, my boots didn’t look quite so ugly anymore.
By Kara Knight
Thanks to some of our generous supporters who donated $30 to give some of our kids new skateboards!
Want a Sox Place Skateboard? Want to donate one? Go to Sox Place Store.
“My dad wasn’t there to teach me how to be a man, so I looked to my friends,” he said. “I didn’t have no one to look up to. I had to teach myself everything.” - a 30 year old father, convicted felon.
We, as a society, condemn the fatherless around us, saying they should be men, but who was there to teach them? I do not believe that a boy can grow up to be a man by himself. A man must teach a boy to be a man! Boys learn from their environment, their peers, and adults in their lives such as coaches, teachers, pastors, etc.
Deseret News (Salt Lake City) reports that “one-third of American children in America are growing up without their biological father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.” Let me say thank you to step fathers, coaches, teachers, pastors, and male family members for stepping in when Dad is absent! There are many men today that are healthy and stable because of these men that filled the gap. But we cannot ignore the facts of fatherlessness in America:
- According to www.fathersunite.org children from fatherless homes are:
- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census).
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
- 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. (Source: Center for Disease Control).
- 80% of rapist motivated by displaced anger come from fatherless homes. (Source: Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14, pp. 403-26).
- 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. (Source: National Principals Assoc. Report on the State of High Schools).
- 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. (Source: Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. Of Corrections, 1992).
- These statistics translate to mean that children from fatherless homes are:
- 5 times more likely to commit suicide
- 32 times more likely to run away
- 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders
- 14 times more likely to commit rape
- 9 times more likely to drop out of high school
- 20 times more likely to end up in prison
I remember a time when a young man, about 18-20 years old, became disrespectful and aggressive towards me. I had told him, in a calm manner, that he was breaking the rules. He became angry, calling me an old man and told me that we could go outside to the alley to handle it! For some reason it made me laugh, which just made matters worse! He finally left, talking at me the whole time.
Within a short amount of time, I began to ask myself about who this young man’s father was or if a father was even around. Where did he learn this way of responding to male authority? The young man came back to Sox Place a couple of weeks later, and I was able to apologize to him for my response toward him, for I became angry because of the way he came at me. I told him that he broke the rules, but I was wrong in the way that I responded to him, and that I should not have laughed. He was very apologetic, saying it was he that owed me an apology! We shook hands, and I won a friend.
So next time you look at a young man who looks or acts as if he doesn’t know how to be a real man, consider his upbringing or the “role models” he grew up with. Don’t have a judgmental attitude; think about where his father is. Maybe he had to learn about being a man from a gang or a drug dealer or one their peers who didn’t know how to be real man himself. More than once a street kid has come to me with tears, asking me to teach him how to be a man. They said they were jealous of my sons and wanted me to give them the same that I had given them.
The vast majority of street kids who have come through Sox Place and my life are good kids, just some really bad things have happened to them. So I will continue to “bring the Father’s heart (love) to the fatherless!”
-Doyle
You can order white Sox Place t-shirts (s, m, l, xl, 2xl) for $15.00 (plus shipping). All the profits go back to Sox Place to help street youth with jobs! Visit our online store at soxplace.bigcartel.com to order your shirt today.
Cigarette smoke swirled and mingled with the cool night air as it drifted upwards into the evening sky against a backdrop of city lights. I sat on the front porch, enjoying a conversation and sharing laughs with Ziggy and several other guys as we shared stories from our week. We had just driven back from the shops at Northfield Stapleton, where some of the staff from Sox Place and I had been able to purchase some new clothes for Ziggy in celebration of him being released from jail. It was only his second day out, and he loved every minute of it.
It was a Thursday evening, and we had met for a Bible study at Sam’s place to read and discuss a few chapters out of 1 Samuel. We all sat and listened as Sam read the first several passages. We talked about the birth of Samuel, his dedication to the Lord by his mother Hannah, and his interaction with Eli as he learns to hear the voice of God. As we talked, Ziggy began asking questions about the life of a Christ-follower. It was easy to tell that he was fully enveloped in the conversation, eager to learn and seek encouragement in the faith.
Though he was in prison for eight years, Sox Place has had the opportunity to radically change the direction of Ziggy’s life. Ziggy isn’t the same person that he was even a few years ago, all thanks to the people that make up this organization. The low number of evident “success stories” that come out of Sox Place can be reason enough to be discouraged at times, but we are here for every single street kid that walks through the doors of Sox Place, praying for them; supporting and providing for them; and growing a meaningful relationship with them, even if it is only to plant a seed.
As I rode home that night, the streetlights casting a golden glow on the city streets, I realized that all it takes to initiate transformation in someone’s life is to plant a seed. We truly love and believe in the street youth of Denver, and we hope to continue planting seeds that will eventually blossom into something much greater.
Written by Benten Woodring
At any point in time, there are over 1,100 homeless youth (ages 14-24) and over 5,000 homeless students (children attending school, but considered homeless) in the Denver-Metro area.* Denver is home to thousands of gang members, countless drug and alcohol addicts, victims of human trafficking, and hundreds of other at-risk youth.
Sox Place is reaching 60-80 of these youth each day.
Each Tuesday through Saturday, we provide a hot meal, mentoring, resources and referrals, clothing, blankets, internet access, recreation, employment assistance, housing assistance, and on-the-job training. Sox Place is a safe environment that is like family – a family that loves and accepts street youth for who they are and where they are in life. The above services will give the street youth the opportunity to end the vicious cycle of hopelessness that they face on a regular basis.
Denver Colorado is known as the “Mile High City” (5,280 feet = 1 mile), and we are asking you to come alongside Sox Place by giving $52.80 a month in support. Without partners like you, we cannot continue or expand our mission.
Please consider supporting Sox Place. You have the power to change the lives of those who need it most.
Watch our website for more information and videos on 5280 in the coming days!
Want to donate now? Here’s a couple options:
- It is quick and easy to contact your bank and set up an automatic donation every month. All you need is your bank info our address! (PO Box 544, Denver CO 80201)
- You can send in monthly checks.
- We are in the process of setting up a PayPal account specifically for 5280. Keep watching our website for that availability. Until then, you can always donate $52.80 through our current PayPal account by clicking below.
*Source: 2009 Point it Time Survey by Metro Denver Homeless Initiative and Colorado Department of Human Services
In Part I, I pleaded with you to do more than be angry about human trafficking, give your spare change to an organization, then forget about it until you hear another statistic.
Did you forget already?
If you haven’t read Part I, please do. Following is a list of ideas that you can do to get involved. Some of them take time and effort. But what could be more important than valuing human life?
1. Keep your eyes open – Do you see the people on the side of the highway, holding signs that ask for change? What else do they do to get money? Do you see that advertisement for erotic massage? Are those people forced to do what they do? Do you see that drug addict in the street? How did he/she get the money to get those drugs? Do you see that girl with dirty hair in your youth group who is having family problems? Who will she run to when she feels she has nowhere else to turn? Open your eyes! Take note of what is going on around you! Call the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Trafficking Information and Referral Hotline at 1(888)3737-888, or the U.S. Department of Justice Trafficking in Persons Complaint Line at 1(888)428-7581, if you suspect someone is in a trafficking situation.
What is Sox Place doing? Homeless youth are some of the most at-risk for domestic human trafficking. According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, “approximately 30% of homeless youth are lured into prostitution within the first 48 hours of being on the street.” Since Sox Place works directly with these youth, we work hard to build relationships of trust so that we can see when something is wrong and so that they feel they can talk to us about what they are going through. We are also beginning to work with Prax(us), who works directly with domestic human trafficking cases in the Denver area. We feel their programs go about helping these youth in the right way.
2. Give when and where you can – There are plenty of organizations out there. Choose one or two, invest in those, and keep up with what they are doing. You may not be able to give much. You may not even think you can give right now, but try to give something. Give up going out to eat once a week or your daily latte or a weekend movie, and give what you save to your favorite organization. Give intentionally! Here are some organizations to get you started:
Prax(us) – Primarily focuses on domestic human trafficking cases in the Denver area.
Project Rescue – Focuses on international human trafficking.
Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) – Focuses on rehabilitating girls in domestic human trafficking situations.
Stop Child Trafficking Now – Addresses the demand side of child trafficking worldwide.
iEmpathize – Focuses on unique advocacy techniques and events; located in Boulder, CO.
What is Sox Place doing? When you give to Sox Place, your donation helps to serve those at-risk for human trafficking. We, in return, make sure those who have been victimized receive the help they need.
3. Pray – Take the time once a week to focus your prayers on human trafficking. Pray not only for the victims but also for organizations, exploiters/traffickers (pray for your enemies), the culture and society that promotes the sex industry, etc. You can find prayer guides on various websites. The Salvation Army has a good one.
What is Sox Place doing? Most of the staff take one day a week to fast and pray. We pray for many things. One focus is the kids that come into Sox Place, who are one of the most at-risk groups for human trafficking.
4. Educate – Educate yourself on the issue of human trafficking. Watch videos, read books and articles, and research on your own. Keep up to date with the most current news and laws. Most of the websites listed under the “give” section have a page on educating yourself, but perhaps the most comprehensive is Project Rescue’s.
What is Sox Place doing? Sox Places hosts human trafficking seminars to educate the staff and community. We are also constantly doing research, reading articles, and watching the news.
5. Advocate – By now, you know the issue and you are moved to doing something. Passionately sharing your knowledge and what to do about it is one of the most important things. Have your church or business host a human trafficking seminar. If you live in the Denver area, Prax(us) has an amazing seminar that will be designed specifically for your organization. If you are not able to have your business/ church host a seminar, you can find where one will be and invite as many people as possible. Or you can host an advocacy night in your home. This could include a video (GEMS has a documentary “Very Young Girls” with questions for a group setting); a book study or article reading; or you can get others involved and have a theme, such as art or prayer.
What is Sox Place Doing? Sox Place has hosted human trafficking seminars and plans to host more throughout the community. When we find frightening statistics or horrific facts, we share them with each other and with our friends and family.
6. Volunteer – you may not have a center for trafficking victims near you, or, if you do, they may be extremely sensitive to who helps out there, but what about places who address problems behind human trafficking? Commit to one day a week or month to volunteer at a youth drop-in center like Sox Place, a homeless shelter, an advocacy group, or a women’s shelter.
What is Sox Place Doing? If you are interested in volunteering or bringing a group to Sox Place, you can find information under the “Get Involved” tab on our website.
Now that you know the issue and know what you can do, what are you going to do?
When?
Written by Kara Knight
It’s not about what we, as staff, go through with doing such mission as Sox Place. It’s about all the street youth that God brings into our lives, those that cross our path for ten years or ten minutes. They are what Sox Place is all about; a way for us to show the Father’s heart to the fatherless, to the lost and forgotten. We will continue to experience the joys and the heartbreaks of our work, but we will not give up on them!
Stevie (our college intern) and I went out on the streets last Tuesday to see if there were street youth we were missing at Sox Place. We walked down to the half circle, on to Skyline Park 1,2 and 3 and talked to a few here and there. We then walked down the length of 16th Street Mall, finding 8 travelers, or train hoppers as they are called.
One couple, I and S were singing to get money. We found out that she was from the area and he from Florida. She told me that her mother had asked her to come back home, but when she got there her mother wanted nothing to do with her! I wanted to hug her, but instead invited them to Sox Place for blankets, food, and of course socks! I also told her that we would not reject her, that she was welcome to our family!
Thanks for your support so that we can continue to doing our mission to the street youth!
Doyle
It started on the streets; it’s where I got my street name from the streets kids in 2000 after passing out hundreds of pairs of socks on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. The streets were the home of the street kids, known as gutter punks, train hoppers, old school, and, by the media, “mall rats.” They were from all walks of life, from all over America, just hanging out on the Mall, a place many called their “living room” because that is where they came together as a family.
When I came in 1998, they were up and down the mall, but mostly around Skyline Park on 16th and Arapahoe streets. I would simply walk up to a crowd, asking if they needed socks. They would of course say yes, taking them with smiles on their faces and, once in a while, a thank you. It started with a pair of socks or even a blanket donated by a church somewhere in America.
After two years the street kids gave me the name Sox, accepting me into their world.
I would spend a few hours during the day and at night. I walked with them, among them, and just on the edge of their existence. God set my heart to them when I was out on the streets and that is where I am returning. I have been longing to be back out there with them again, and with the great staff that is now at Sox Place Drop-In Center, I can. So for now I will be out there a couple days a week and one to two nights. I will be joined by Stevie, one of our college interns, on Tuesday. This doesn’t change my passion and love of our Drop-In Center, but I must get back out there in their world!
Doyle
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