Making room for the young and homeless

Late last year, Brooklyn Center resident Robert Brentrup and his partner, Chuck Clingman, agreed to temporarily take in a homeless teenager through the Suburban Host Home Program, which facilitates such arrangements.

The teen, a high school senior whose name couldn't be used because of the program's confidentiality terms, plans to attend a community college in the fall. Right now, she's saving money from her part-time job to go to the prom, said Brentrup.

"She's bright, funny and has goals," he said, adding that she's pretty self-reliant, even doing her own cooking.

Avenues for Homeless Youth, a north Minneapolis nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing and supportive services, coordinates the program through which a homeless youth can arrange to stay with a host for six to 18 months.

On May 15, the organization is hosting an informational session about the program at Brooklyn United Methodist Church, 7200 Brooklyn Blvd., Brooklyn Center. It will take place at 6 p.m.

"A lot of people tell us how much they admire us for doing this," Brentrup said. "They don't realize how little effort is needed."

Occasionally, the couple will give their young housemate a ride to or from work, and they like to go to the theater together for fun.

Already the couple is planning to host another homeless youth. "This is a feet-on-the-ground kind of volunteer thing, a chance to impact one life," and to see the results, Brentrup said.

Finding a home

Avenues modeled the suburban program after its similar GLBT-focused housing initiative, which it started in Minneapolis in 1997, according to program manager Jenny Lock.

The suburban program launched in 2011, while the organization rolled out the Minneapolis Host Home Program last month, she said.

Case managers who work at various community locations usually refer the youth to the program. They range from 16 to 21 years old, Lock explained.

In contrast to foster care, hosts are unpaid, and they're vetted through a different process, she said.

Already, the program has exceeded its goals in terms of host family applications, she said.

Not just an urban problem

The Avenues program is one response to the growing problem of youth homelessness across the state. Between 2006 and 2009, the state saw a 46 percent increase in unaccompanied homeless youth ages 12 to 21, according to Lock, who cited Wilder Research.

It's a disturbing trend that affects the suburbs, including the north metro. "The idea that it's an urban problem is no longer the case," she said.

Sometimes a parent or guardian struggles with a chemical addiction or mental health issues, or there may be a family conflict. For example, a young person may be kicked out of his or her home after coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT). Or after becoming pregnant.

Very few are so-called "runaways."

"Most of these young people are homeless through no fault of their own," Lock said.

To graduate from high school, maintain much-needed relationships and move into stable young adulthood, "staying in their home community is critical," she said.

Pastor Rachel Morey of Mosaic, which is housed at Brooklyn United, where the informational session is being held, said it's an issue that the congregation is focused on trying to help resolve.

It's a problem with no easy solutions. "These kids are in a diverse array of horrendous situations," she said. "We need everyone on board to fix it."