By DAVIS DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

For many of us, sitting around the table with loved ones, filling our plates with turkey, ham, green bean casserole and all of the other holiday staples is a luxury, but for many, they’ll enter this holiday season without a home or family.

That’s where Family Connection looks to step in and prevent that disconnect as a nonprofit organization that operates the only runaway/homeless shelter for youth in central Alabama with the goal of keeping youth in Shelby County and beyond safe, while hopefully reuniting them with their families or better circumstances.

With Youth Homelessness, Outreach, Prevention and Education Month coinciding with November and Thanksgiving, Family Connection is determined to pave a path toward creating a safe holiday space for those in need.

A light in the darkness

The month aims to raise awareness of the crisis facing homeless and runaway youth and provide the public with practical solutions to combat and ultimately end youth homelessness in America.

For Family Connection’s Executive Director Jennifer Ellison, the issue of youth homelessness is personal as a parent.

“I’m a mom. I have an 18-year-old son, and I have some firsthand experience working with young people on the issues our youth face,” she said. “We get kids from a variety of different situations, but what they all have in common is that they are facing some crisis, whether they’ve run away, are experiencing homelessness, are at risk, etc. When these kids come to us, they’re very vulnerable, impressionable and in a hard world.”

Ellison’s passion for her work comes from a heart of service toward the very hardships that the youth from Family Connection are dealing with.

“I see the challenges that young people are facing today, and I know it’s a hard world and we’re seeing that with the mental health crisis,” she said. “Being able to pour into these young people, give them the support and tools they need, give their families the support they need and help them become productive and successful people.”

While Ellison’s passion has taken Family Connection to new heights, she recognizes the challenges of being the lone care provider for homeless and runaway youth in Central Alabama.

“The biggest thing for me is ensuring that young people know we’re here,” she said. “What I don’t like is the thought of a young person being at risk, needing a place to be and not knowing that we exist.”

Furthermore, Ellison knows that the popularity of a homeless shelter can be a catch-22, as well as the fledgling autonomy of the youth Family Connection serves.

“The flip side is that the more youth that need our help, the more assistance we need from the community regarding volunteers and funding,” Ellison said. “Family reunification is always our goal. Unfortunately, there are times when that’s not possible. It’s an underserved population, and it’s challenging to work with young people because they’re not legal adults and can’t make many of their own decisions.”

Another challenge that Ellison and her team at Family Connection face is fighting the stigma and negative associations surrounding the homeless and runaway populations they work with.

“There’s no specific socioeconomic status; we see youth from all walks of life come through the program,” Ellison said. “Every family can experience a family disruption: a divorce, a death in the family or some crisis. Poverty and kids aging out of foster care can contribute to who we serve, as well as a lack of affordable housing. We also see abuse in homes a lot: physical, emotional, substance. It’s anything and everything that brings kids to us. We don’t work with troubled youth. We work with youth that are in trouble.”

A growing struggle

Approximately 4.2 million youth in the U.S., categorized as people between the ages of 13 and 25, experience some form of homelessness each year, with minority groups especially at risk. Perhaps the most staggering statistic regarding youth homelessness is that one in 10 adults ages 18-25 and one in 30 youth ages 13-17 will experience homelessness each year.

Regarding the Yellowhammer State, Alabama’s general homeless rate is the fourth lowest in the country. However, Alabama has the fourth highest rate of unaccompanied homeless youth in the country.

These are youth who don’t have access to a safe haven or shelter, and 68 percent of homeless youth in Alabama fall into this category. Many of these youth are living among us in our communities, as according to the National Center for Homeless Education, 685 unaccompanied homeless youth were enrolled in the Alabama public school system across various age groups during the 2021-22 calendar year.

While most in Alabama celebrate the holidays in the comfort of their own home, many of the state’s youth have no place to lay their head, are unsure of where their next meal will come from and are at a greater risk of illness, both physical and mental.

Furthermore, assault and suicide rates are nationally higher than average regarding homeless youth. These statistics provide a sobering picture of the harsh reality surrounding homeless youth during the holiday season: a time usually full of cheer is quite the opposite for those on our cities’ streets.

Determined to make a difference

Ellison, who assumed her role in January, outlined a plan to broadly increase Family Connection’s operations, including growing and expanding its shelters and the safety and counseling services it provides throughout central Alabama.

“We have gone through a strategic planning process this year with our board and created a new three-year strategic plan,” Ellison said. “That allowed us to take a step back and look at, okay, here’s the history. Here are the programs we have and, and kind of, how do we see ourselves in the future. So, we also went through a rebrand this year. So, we have a new look, a new logo, a new website,” Ellison said. “Our new strategic plan is based on four pillars. The first pillar is to serve more of the youth who need us. Our second pillar is to achieve a greater impact on the youth that we serve. Our third pillar is to elevate our brand and increase community engagement; pillar four is to build a strong financial position and sustain operational excellence. Under each of those pillars, we’ve identified some focus areas we want to look at over the next few years, increasing services to youth and families, expanding our shelter services, just continuing to meet young people where they’re at.”

The services Family Connection provides has three parts.

“The three key areas are shelter, safety and counseling,” Ellison said. “We meet the basic necessities for the youth that come to us: clothing, food, personal hygiene products, transportation to medical care. We also do shelter-based counseling, school-based counseling and community-based counseling. Our main goal is to keep kids safe. Runaways and homeless youth are an at-risk population; they’re more likely to commit a crime or have a crime committed against them, get involved with drug and alcohol abuse or be exposed to human trafficking. The goal is to ensure we’re keeping them safe, off the streets and reducing that risk.”

A community of hope

Gordon Sullivan currently serves as the interim executive director for One Roof, which serves as the continuum of care for Family Connection.

Sullivan said that a continuum of care is a coalition of many different organizations and entities who all share the common vision of ending homelessness as we know it today.

This coalition, or continuum of care, comprises different nonprofits and local governments like the city of Birmingham, Jefferson County and the Shelby County Commission, who all come together because their work touches homelessness separately to some degree.

Like Ellison, Sullivan agrees that homelessness is a complex social issue in society.

“It’s a cross-sectional challenge; it’s never about just homelessness; it’s always homelessness plus something else,” he said.

Sullivan believes in the giving spirit of Alabamians, especially as the holidays approach.

“One of the things that I love about Alabamians is their giving nature,” he said. “They really step up in times of need to help the betterment of their entire community. One way folks can get involved this holiday season is to give to these organizations that do the work every day.”

Both Ellison and Sullivan will be working some of their most important days of the year during this holiday season.

While many others are enjoying time away from work or time with family, they will be running organizations that help make sure others have a safe space for the holidays.