July 30, 2015   A frightened 16-year-old Nevada runaway is safe again thanks to a helpful Valley Metro worker, Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development and the Safe Place hotline at a Valley Metro light rail station.

“This is exactly what the system is designed to do,” said Cynthia Schuler, CEO of Tumbleweed in Phoenix, which manages the Safe Place program at Valley Metro light rail stations and QuikTrip stores. “A young person at serious risk and very far from home base needed help right away and got it in less than an hour.”

On the early morning of July 7, a Valley Metro employee noticed the 16-year old riding the light rail system. The youth said he was a runaway from a foster home in Nevada and had previously run away, but only for a few days.  This time, he reported he had been on the run for three weeks, hitchhiking, eating from dumpsters and panhandling for cash.  He said was tired of running, frightened by his first venture beyond Nevada and “did not know what to do next,” according to Schuler. He had spotted the Safe Place sign and asked for help from the light rail employee.

The pair used the Safe Place hotline at the next light rail station to initiate contact with Tumbleweed. In approximately 45 minutes the youth was at a Tumbleweed residential shelter, where he received food and drink, an opportunity to shower, clean his clothes, and sleep in a comfortable bed. The Tumbleweed Lead Youth Care Worker contacted Child Protective Services in Nevada “where they were very worried about him,” Schuler said. “Nevada CPS said they had filed a runaway report with the police and had been looking for him.”

Tumbleweed and Nevada CPS arranged for the child’s caseworker from Nevada to travel to Phoenix where two days later “there was an emotional reunion,” Schuler said. “Lots of tears and hugs.”

“The youth was grateful to have a roof over his head and a safe environment at Tumbleweed where he could rest and recover from an exhausting ordeal,” Schuler added. “Thanks to the training Valley Metro has done with its employees and the availability of the Safe Place hotline, Tumbleweed staff was able to stabilize this young man and help get him back to a safe environment.”

Safe Place is a national program that makes local hotline service available to teens in crisis 17 and younger. In the Valley, Tumbleweed manages the service and responds to hotline calls. QuikTrip stores and Valley Metro Light rail stations serve as hotline sites and their employees are trained to help young people seeking assistance. Since the program started in the Valley last summer, Schuler says Tumbleweed fields a Safe Place call from a distressed teen roughly every three days.

July 24, 2015   In a unique partnership, the Arizona Republic and QuikTrip are working together to help deliver much-needed water all summer to the hundreds of young people in Maricopa County who are currently homeless.

Beginning this Sunday (July 26) and running each Sunday through October 4, the Arizona Republic will donate one bottle of water to Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development for every copy of the Sunday Republic sold at a QuikTrip store.

“The Arizona Republic is concerned with making the Metro Phoenix area a safe place for kids,” said Larry Kaiser, Director of Single Copy Sales for the Republic. “In addition to providing needed hydration for homeless teens, this partnership will promote community awareness of Tumbleweed’s mission.”

Based on current sales of the Sunday Republic at QuikTrip stores, the initiative could result in thousands of water bottles being donated each week.

“We take water so much for granted it is hard to imagine being in a position where it is suddenly hard to get,” said Tumbleweed CEO Cynthia Schuler. “But if you are a homeless young person with no money, it is more difficult to find drinking water than you might think. Water contributions are very important to our mission of helping homeless youth.”

QuikTrip has a history of community engagement, especially with Tumbleweed. QuikTrip stores are designated “Safe Place” locations, where people 17 and younger who are in crisis can find immediate help through a 24-hour phone hotline managed by Tumbleweed.  Valley Metro Light Rail also makes the hotline available at all light rail stations.

“W are very grateful for the community mindedness of QuikTrip and the tremendous assistance of the Arizona Republic, which has such a long history of making a positive difference in the Valley and Arizona,’ Schuler added.

July 21, 2015     A recent survey of homeless youth at the Tumbleweed Emergency Housing Program (EHP) in Phoenix shows that sex trafficking, crime and violence were the most commonly cited reasons for seeking emergency shelter.

26 young people offered responses at Tumbleweed’s 33-bed Emergency Housing Program on East Van Buren Street in Phoenix. Six said they were fleeing sex traffickers, 5 reported being victims of crime such as robbery, 4 cited domestic violence, and two said they had been sexually assaulted. Family deportations, chronic poverty and family conflict were also cited.

“This is a representative snapshot,” said EHP Manager Corey Wolter. “Young people on the street are extremely vulnerable and are regularly victimized in some way. 23% of our residents that night reported that they had been sexually trafficked, a sad but not unusual fact.”

The Tumbleweed Emergency Housing Program is housed in a renovated motel and provides beds, bathroom and shower facilities, group meetings and evening meals during the evening and overnight hours 7 days a week. Young people have the opportunity to access other Tumbleweed services through the EHP, such as counseling, continuing education, life skills training and transitional housing support.

“It’s all about moving forward to independent young adulthood,” Wolter says. “With the right kind of support helping them deal with the trauma they have experienced, many get off the street permanently.”

Tumbleweed is the lead agency of the five-member AZ Partnership to End Domestic Trafficking.

The Tempe City Council has approved a Tempe Community Council recommendation of $66,000 to fund Tumbleweed’s efforts to help homeless youth in Tempe. The recommendation was included in the Council’s FY 2015/15 budget approval in June.

“Tempe is so sensitive to the needs of youth and we are thrilled to continue to be part of the solution to youth homelessness in the community,” said Tumbleweed Chief Executive officer Cynthia Schuler. “We served more than 280 homeless youth at our Tempe Youth Resource Center last year while coordinating closely  with entities such as the ASU School of Nursing, the Tempe Community Action Agency, the Tempe Homeless Coalition and many others as part of Tempe’s community-based collaborative approach.”

The Tempe Youth Resource Center at 505 W. University provides homeless young people with shower and laundry facilities, food, clothing and hygiene supplies and connection to counseling and other services.  It operates Monday through Friday from mid-morning until 4 p.m.

This summer, The Tempe Youth Resource Center also becomes home base for Tumbleweed’s new Mobile Youth Resource Center, a full-service van and trailer enabling Tumbleweed to help homeless youth in other parts of the Valley.

Homeless teens and young adults can be encountered in schools, job sites, public events,  just about anywhere people meet.  With nowhere to stay and no one to rely on, most carry the additional burden of dealing with traumatic, abusive events that have directly contributed to their homeless state.  Many people feel awkward about having a conversation with someone who appears homeless, though homeless youth are no less caring or perceptive than any other young person, or any less deserving of your attention and respect.

Here are a few things we hear our Tumbleweed youth say they hear, and which they wish they could prevent!

Why doesn’t your family help you?

Everyone’s story is unique, but most homeless young people between the ages of 12-25 are fleeing abusive home situations that include physical violence, neglect, sexual abuse or parental substance abuse.  Many LGBT youth have been evicted from their families due to their sexual orientation.  Help from their immediate family is not an option.

If you just got a job you could get a place to live.

Due to chaotic, violent or neglectful home environments, many homeless youth have not developed the life skills needed to attain independent young adulthood. The psychological and physiological impact of abuse makes them less likely to have developed skills such as impulse control, management of emotions, or keeping to a schedule. With counseling and a supportive environment, these skills can be learned relatively quickly. However, this kind of comment, no matter how it is intended, is usually not well-received or helpful.

Nobody is going to want to help you when you look like that.

Most young people flee a bad situation with little planning or forethought.  They don’t anticipate the difficulty in keeping clean and neat.  Going for days in the same clothes or without washing up or brushing teeth is a difficult experience for homeless youth and has a negative impact on mental health.  Often, getting a shower and clean clothes is the first Tumbleweed service many young people want to use.  Like anyone, homeless young people are aware of their appearance.

Are you using drugs?

Although the pain of an abusive background and homelessness mean some young people do get involved with substance abuse, it is difficult for homeless young people to understand why strangers feel comfortable asking questions that are confrontational, disrespectful or intrusive.

The vast majority did not choose their situation and have no desire to be homeless.  Many people are surprised by how thoughtful and intelligent young homeless people are, especially if they are approached with courtesy.

You should go to (fill in city name). They give handouts to homeless all the time.

While it is understandable that a casual passerby might think a young homeless person intends to permanently seek handouts and will go to the place he or she is most likely to receive them, that is almost never the case.  Most homeless young people have a strong desire for stability and permanence.

Oh, and almost all the homeless youth we help are originally from the Phoenix metro area.

Next week, some tips that can help you have a conversation with a homeless young person.

The Chandler City Council approved $15,000 for Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development to help homeless youth in Chandler as part of the Fiscal Year 15/16 budget approved in June. For the first time, Tumbleweed will be part of the robust Chandler effort to address the needs of the homeless.

“We are proud to be part of a system that is a model of partnership and community spirit when it comes to addressing homelessness,” said Tumbleweed Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Schuler. “I want to thank Mayor Tibshraeny, Vice Mayor Hartke and the Council, as well as the volunteer Housing and Human Services Commission and their Families in Crisis Subcommittee,” she added.

Tumbleweed will use the funds to set up apartments and identify homeless youth in Chandler who may be eligible for transitional housing. “Our goal is to help homeless youth transition to fully independent young adulthood,” Schuler said. “Many of them are fleeing abusive situations. They often lack the life skills and group of supportive people most of us take for granted.”

Tumbleweed has been in operation since 1975 and operates 6 residential facilities and two Youth Resource Centers in Phoenix and Tempe as well as a County-accredited alternative high school. Tumbleweed serves homeless youth ages 12 through 25 with assistance ranging from emergency housing to respite services including food, clothing, laundry/shower facilities and counseling. Other services include family reunification and for older youth, transitional housing, education and life skills training.

As part of its adoption of the Fiscal Year 2015/16 budget in June, the Scottsdale City Council approved $30,000 in General Fund allocations that will help Tumbleweed Youth Development Center develop transitional housing for homeless youth.

“We want to thank Mayor Lane, Vice Mayor Milhaven and the entire Council for their support of services for homeless youth in Scottsdale,” said Tumbleweed Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Schuler. “We are also very grateful for the recommendation to Council by the Scottsdale Human Services Commission.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to help the youth of Scottsdale when they are in crisis,” Schuler added, noting that many young homeless people need temporary or short term assistance transitioning from foster care or dealing with difficult or abusive situations in a home environment.

Tumbleweed has been in operation since 1975 and operates 6 residential facilities and two Youth Resource Centers in Phoenix and Tempe as well as a County-accredited alternative high school. Tumbleweed serves homeless youth ages 12 through 25 with assistance ranging from emergency housing to respite services including food, clothing, laundry/shower facilities and counseling. Other services include family reunification and for older youth, transitional housing, education and life skills training.

In approving its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget in June, The Peoria City Council authorized $3,000 to help Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development assist young Peoria residents.  The approval followed a recommendation for funding from the Peoria Council Not-For-Profit Review and Housing Sub-Committee earlier this year.

“We are grateful the Council recognizes that when Peoria youth are in crisis, Tumbleweed is a premier agency offering a variety of assistance,” said Tumbleweed Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Schuler. “These funds can expand our management of the Safe Place call box program to Peoria, or defray the costs of housing or otherwise assisting Peoria young people who are transitioning from foster care or dealing with difficult or abusive situations at home.”

Tumbleweed has been in operation since 1975 and operates 6 residential facilities and two Youth Resource Centers in Phoenix and Tempe as well as a County-accredited alternative high school. Tumbleweed serves homeless youth ages 12 through 25 with assistance ranging from emergency housing to respite services including food, clothing, laundry/shower facilities and counseling. Other services include family reunification and for older youth, transitional housing, education and life skills training.

Thanks to the Arizona Child Abuse Prevention License Plate Fund’s $25,000 grant, Tumbleweed will enhance services for our under-18 shelters for homeless and runaway youth.

Our Safe Place and Open Hands program provide emergency shelter, counseling, family reunification and other services for minors who have left troubled home lives.

The grant was made possible through a partnership of the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family, The Arizona Community Foundation and the Arizona Republic with funding partners Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, BHHS Legacy Foundation and Valley of the Sun United Way.

Thank you to all of the partners involved in this unique program to help Arizona youth!

Sex trafficking survivor Leah Rogers addressed young people staying at the Tumbleweed Emergency Housing Program July 2, sharing her story of survival and recovery.

Rogers is a former stripper and sex industry worker who has written an Autobiography called “Game Over: The Story Behind A Sex Trafficking Victim,” released  in May, 2015, detailing life as a prostitute owned by a savage pimp.

Leah’s website and powerful YouTube video have given her international exposure. Through social media, she is approaching one million views.

Leah was raised with a mother who was a heavy drug user and was regularly physically abused by men.  Leah began running away and worked as a stripper to maintain a living for her daughter. It was there that she’d met the man later exposed as a pimp.

Leah worked as a prostitute around the United States, mainly California, Scottsdale, Arizona, Washington, D.C and Texas for almost three years, while being beaten brutally by her pimp even after she became pregnant with his son.

On May 13th, 2011, after disturbing encounters with law enforcement and her pimp’s recruitment of underage girls, Leah got a second chance to turn her life around.