Bridge the Gap for Homeless Youth

I am truly grateful for and humbled by the incredible support our local and global community has shown for our youth during this challenging year. Over the past nine months, we have seen the best of ourselves in people who have willingly given monetary support, as well as their time and words of encouragement. 

The work this past year has been a tremendous lift for our staff, who understood that we could not be unresponsive during this crisis.  "We don't like to wait around for someone else to do the work. We are going to find a way to get it done." - LAYC staff member.

It has been humbling to learn how our youth and community have been impacted by COVID-19. For example, up to 70% of homeless youth served by LAYC lost their jobs during the pandemic, hundreds of families were unable to afford rent, and thousands of clients could not meet their basic needs.

Our work has been motivated by our belief that we must hold onto hope and a strong sense of community; one of our most important roles in the lives of young people is to give them hope and assurance that they do not have to face challenges and crises alone.

We would not have been able to keep moving forward this year without the support of our community. This means every donor and volunteer who has enabled us to provide much-needed services and meet immediate needs that have exceeded anything we have seen before. 

Together we have persevered, stood by our communities, and given them hope.

Thank you for your support, for caring, and for being part of our LAYC community.

Lupi Quinteros-Grady

Links:

• Persevering and Finding Hope at LAYC
• http://www.layc-dc.org