independent living

A Continuum of Care for Homeless Youth

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By working within the J Bar J suite of programs we were able to help Cassie leave a dangerous living situation. She was first connected with our Street Outreach Program and with their help she came to live at Grandma’s house. The case managers from Grandma’s House were able to help Cassie attain all her important paperwork such as birth certificate and license, find stable work, and attend classes on healthy pregnancy and mothering. She was also able to establish care with healthcare providers. She saved money and with the help of our housing program she is moving into her own apartment. Cassie felt empowered and confident enough to find herself a safe independent living situation. She will continue to work with our housing staff for the next year. She’s moving in this Sunday and will be able to properly care for the upcoming birth of her baby! 

Our Independent Living Program (ILP) was recently able to assist five former foster youth that were previously homeless. These former foster young people are now in stable, long-term housing. Creating an opportunity to provide stable housing to these youth allows them to continue employment and now report having a sense of belonging and security. There are many barriers that the youth face with housing in Central Oregon. ILP is grateful to assist them in finding safe, stable living situations. 

To help meet the needs of kids in the Redmond community, J Bar J recently opened the newest shelter facility for youth experiencing homelessness.   The Canal House is a valuable resource for homeless vulnerable youth.  The fully renovated house provides a safe space for kids to drop in, talk to a mentor, have a safe night’s sleep, and gain access to further resources.  

Continuum of Care Is Essential To Helping Kids and Families

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Most of the youth and families receiving support from the programs under J Bar J require a holistic approach to their situation and multiple services to help them reach stability. A recent example highlighting how services come together was when a teenager needed housing. Sara was living in a vehicle with her mother and siblings. Her mother had escaped an abusive situation and fled to Bend with her children. However, addiction issues made living in most shelters problematic as they require clean and sober residents. She had run out of options.  

Sara was a good student and worked hard, but homelessness made even simple things like getting to school a struggle. A teacher at Sara’s high school recommended she look into services at Cascade Youth & Family Center and The LOFT, our transitional living shelter for runaway and homeless youth. Sara was eligible for lodging at The LOFT and her family was referred to other programs under the umbrella of J Bar J Youth Services.

First, The Street Outreach Program checked in with the family and helped secure a temporary hotel room and provided groceries. Kindred Connections, our program providing support to families in crisis, sometimes by temporarily hosting a child in someone’s home, worked to find them a longer term place to park an RV a donor had offered. The family was reunited in a living situation where her mom could then find support in her recovery.

Other services are called on when needed. The Anti- Trafficking Project provides case management to survivors of human trafficking and The Independent Living Program teaches life skills to current and former foster children living in one of our 3 shelter programs: The LOFT, Grandma’s House, or a Kindred Connections Family.

There are many community services J Bar J programs network with to assure youth in our programs have what they need to sustain a transition to self-sufficiency and reach long term success.

Mosaic Medical for health care and A Smile for Kids, providing orthodontics for underserved youth are examples of our generous medical community partners.  Furnish Hope is a community partner that helps a house become a home for a youth or family as they transition into their own living space.  

An important piece of this network is helping kids get to higher education. COCC’s Latinx Student Program refers youth to our Big Brothers Big Sisters Latinx Mentor Program supported by Oregon Community Foundation to mention just one.  Students in a mentoring relationship are more likely to complete high school and attend higher education.   When youth need help overcoming obstacles, it requires a holistic, community approach. It does take a village. Our village is very generous!