Blog

Jay’s Experience with Avenues

December 30, 2022

“If someone were to tell me they were thinking of coming to Avenues, I would tell them its going to be a good fit.” Jay, a young person at Avenues recently said. “The culture is laid back and at your pace but they will push for you to strive to…

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Youth Experience: Home at Brooklyn Avenues

October 31, 2022

Alexi, a 19 year-old living at Brooklyn Avenues, recently shared about their experience in the program and how it’s the people and personal connections that have made the difference during their stay. Read Alexi’s interview below.  “I wish that people knew that homelessness should not be something taken as people…

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ConneQTions between Hosts and Youth

August 24, 2022

Youth determination is at the center of our process when matching youth with hosts. In ConneQT, youth get to read the applications of hosts (in each application hosts write an open letter describing who they are and why they want to host) and the youth get to decide who they’d…

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The Realities Emerson Wants You to Know 

May 5, 2022

“People don’t realize how complex existing is when you don’t have a support frame of people helping you,” Emerson, a youth at Avenues, recently said.  Emerson moved into Avenues last September when they were 17 years old. Since then, they’ve celebrated their 18th birthday, and are working towards getting their…

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Barriers for Minors Experiencing Homelessness

March 31, 2022

“A lot of people don’t realize that if you become homeless before you’re 18, it’s a waiting game.” Emerson Emerson is a digital artist. They’re learning to turn photos of people into digital portraits using their tablet. They also just celebrated a birthday at Avenues, and were surprised with a…

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Meet Gavin, A Young Person at Avenues

February 23, 2022

Gavin, a twenty-year-old at Avenues, recently shared about his experience in the program and what he thinks society can be doing better for youth. Read his interview below. What do you think society can do better for youth? Easier schools with more help. School was pretty hard for me. I…

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Successful Meet and Greet in ConneQT

January 21, 2022

ConneQT, a host home program of Avenues, provides LGBTQI+ youth culturally responsive housing within their community of choice. In ConneQT, youth choose which community member they live with and those community members provide housing and food, while Avenues staff provides wrap-around services and support. Youth determination is at the center of…

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Barriers to Job Hunting

December 28, 2021

Kell is 20-years-old and living at Avenues. He’s happy to have a mailing address and a washer and dryer. He thinks Toni, a Youth Support Specialist on team, is “cool AF,” and wants Avenues to create programs for first time renters with no credit. He doesn’t believe there should be…

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Raven’s Story

December 9, 2021

“My dream is for people to actually love themselves and not have race conflicts. To not be judged.” – Raven, a former youth at Avenues *Raven recently moved out of an Avenues program. She has a lot of advice for youth who might stay at Avenues, including to wear shower…

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Youth Want Affordable Housing

November 29, 2021

Learn about youth homelessness from Justice, an 18-year-old living at Avenues. Justice’s interview highlights the impact of Minnesota’s housing and rental market. Currently, the Twin Cities have the worst housing shortage in the nation. On top of that, the average cost for an apartment in Minneapolis is over $1,500 a…

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