Bridge the Gap for Homeless Youth

Lucas is a dedicated student who faced many challenges along his academic journey, including homelessness. He found a place to live and was connected to the resources he needed to succeed in LAYC’s housing program. Here is his story:

 “I love education. I want to continue to study a lot, and I want to know everything. By going to a university I can start to do that. I want to set an example to many people showing them that it is not easy to follow your dreams, but not impossible to learn many new things.”

Despite Lucas’ passion for learning, he encountered multiple obstacles to his academic his home country of Honduras, and ultimately had to leave school to work and support his family. His academic progress was further disrupted when he was 17 years old, when he traveled to the United States.

Lucas remembers, “The first day school was difficult. I was pretty lost in a school that was so big. The teachers were kind, but I did not understand the language. Despite the challenges I faced, after the first day I just wanted to be in school. I went to school at 7:40am and left at 6:00pm. I was able to go on many school trips to museums and learned a lot of things that I would not have learned in my home country.”

On top of entering a new school, in a new language, Lucas had to find housing. This past year, Lucas has been working hard with his LAYC case manager in LAYC’s Transitional Living Program to achieve various goals. He enrolled in a health insurance program and enrolled in summer school to complete his educational requirements more quickly.

According to LAYC staff, Lucas has a positive attitude, is always smiling, and makes it a point to support other youth around him. It came as no surprise that Lucas joined LAYC’s Latino Youth Leadership Council, which works to amplify the voices of Latino youth and advocate on their behalf.

Lucas’ sense of security and well-being has greatly improved this year. In addition to continuing his education, he is maintaining a job in a restaurant, and taking time to enjoy his hobbies of painting and listening to music. Lucas has now enrolled in college and is pursuing a major in architecture.  With the support of LAYC staff, he secured a scholarship to enroll in two college courses for free. 

 “From these experiences I learned that no matter how difficult the journey is, one should never give up. I will never stop until I reach all my dreams and beyond, because fulfilling these dreams will help show people like me that they can do it too.”

Thank you so much for supporting LAYC’s homeless youth programs. Your contribution is vital to our work connecting youth like Lucas to stable housing and employment so that they can make a successful transition to adulthood.

Gracias!

Lupi-Quinteros-Grady
President and CEO