Archive for April, 2008

Mark Redmond and Michael Hutchins, residential manager at Spectrum’s Youth Co-Op, both testified for the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 29th. Watch the Webcast

There is a young man many of us here at Spectrum know from his time in the shelter and then in our transitional living residence, the SRO (Single Room Occupancy). Two and a half years ago he was 19, homeless, and living in a truck. When the temperature dropped below freezing, he decided to come to Spectrum. He started out at our shelter, and then moved over to the SRO where he spent the next 18 months. He graduated from there a few months ago and decided he wanted to join the Marines.

He entered boot camp in Paris Island, probably the most rigorous training that any human being could ever experience. He initially became ill and ended up in sick bay, and I found out he was becoming very discouraged and thinking of quitting. I have never been in the service but my father-in-law was a Marine, so was my wife’s uncle, and one of our Spectrum board members was as well, Bob Hallowell. I asked all these people, and Gen. Michael Dubie, who is head of the Vermont National Guard and a Spectrum contributor, to use my name and write to this young man to encourage him. I don’t know if the letters were what did it, but he recovered, left sick bay, started the training and made it through.

I found out that there was to be a graduation ceremony at the end of boot camp, and also a Family Day the day before. I knew no one from his family would be attending, so I asked Ray Beaver, one of our staff, to fly down to S.C. for this. Ray, being the good man he is, did so, and it was a great experience for him and for this young man, who was very appreciate that Spectrum sent someone for this.

After the ceremony, this young man headed back up to Vermont for a brief leave. I saw him in our drop-in center last week, and he told me he is now heading for more training in North Carolina and will then be posted somewhere in the world. I said to him, “Make sure you write to us, wherever you end up, so we can stay in touch with you,” and he answered, “You can count on that, because Spectrum will always be my home in my heart.”

Regardless of how you may feel about the war, or about the military, this is an incredible story and I think shows what young people who are homeless can do if given the right opportunities and guidance. It also shows the transforming effect our Spectrum staff can have on young people, and how we truly are home for some of them.

The other day a young man, who used to come in to our Drop-In Center for help, came by with a donation: $144 in cash, in an envelope, with this note attached:

To the Youth of Spectrum,

Please use this money for a relaxing camping trip and a hike to help relax and revive the inner self of the youth here.

You helped me unbelievably and I have faith that you can help others too.

Thank you.

Check out the op-ed piece I wrote for the Burlington Free Press:

A few weeks ago the office of Ed Commissioner Richard Cate called me to ask if he could come and meet with Spectrum youth. They explained that the Commissioner was touring schools around the state, listening to teachers and students to better understand what improvements are needed in education in Vermont.

I of course agreed, and he came by as promised. I sat with him in our drop-in center, our education coordinator Josh Van Kirk accompanying me, as well as some of our drop-in staff. About a dozen youth showed up, and they were very open with Commissioner Cate in describing their school experiences. Almost all had dropped out at some point, and yet almost all had managed to subsequently obtain their GED or even a h.s. diploma. What struck me most was their tenacity. Each had dealt with some crushing circumstances, including multiple foster homes, homelessness, and family difficulties. One even talked about his succumbing to “the temptations of the wrong crowd of kids and drugs.” Despite it all, they had persevered in their quest to complete their high school education.

The other thing that predominated the discussion was that so many of these kids had been receiving special ed services for a learning disability at some point, done well, and then the school discontinued the services because the student was improving. Person after person talked about how counter-productive and harmful this was for them, and in many cases ultimately led to their dropping-out.

This was a very instructive session for me, and I believe it must have been for Comm. Cate as well. I am grateful to him for coming by to listen to our young people, and I hope it factors into his plans for improving the ed system in Vermont.