A New Start for Christine

It was difficult for Christine to write out her life on paper.

Reliving a past that she mostly wanted to forget didn’t seem like a story destined to have a happy ending.

But that was the chapter she was at in her life.

Like so many teens who find themselves alone and without a support system, Christine’s story was unfolding and unraveling beyond her control. So as she wrote her autobiography and listed her future goals when she first came to BRIDGES, her new story was about to begin. (BRIDGES, a program at the Wichita Children’s Home, is receiving first-time United Way funding in 2005.)

BRIDGES provides support and life-skills training to teens 16 to 21 years of age who have become homeless or placed into State custody, bridging a gap in services for teens transitioning to adulthood.

"The majority of our teens come off the streets and many are angry—at the system or people in their lives," says Lee Martin, program manager for BRIDGES. "But they are also grateful to have a roof over their heads and, most often, humbled to be a part of this program."

After being adopted and then later given back up, Christine managed through high school, started and then quit college, and finally moved back to Wichita and back to nothing. "I had no place to go," says Christine. "I didn’t have anything."

Although, already proving she had the determination to "get by" in life to an extent, Christine knew she needed help to break free from the struggles life had dealt her and to learn the basic steps to self-sufficiency.

"A lot of teens are not learning to be successful in the workplace or in life," Martin says. "Our goal is to help them learn to take care of themselves so they can become successful in the community.

"For Christine, it was just the support and encouragement that she could work through this…to help her step by step along the way," says Martin.

Christine receives assistance for rent, help to pay for school and medical benefits. She also learned important life skills like how to balance her checkbook, prepare a budget, manage time wisely and even how to cook and clean.

"BRIDGES helps you find a job that fits your skills, gives you long-term career opportunities and gives you enough structure along the way to guide you into making something of yourself," says Christine.

Just 10 months after joining this program Christine is already meeting some of her major goals. She is attending WSU full-time, has saved enough money to purchase a car next month and has a job that is fulfilling her social work practicum.

"I have a new start," she says. "I think that’s what most of us here are looking for."

A new chapter of Christine’s life is being written and she’s turning the pages on the struggles that brought her here.

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United Way impacts the issues that matter.

Issue:
Homeless and runaway teens who no longer qualify for children’s homelessness services.

United Way Actions:
United Way’s commitment to fund programs that get results led United Way to allocate first-time funds to BRIDGES, a program that focuses on the issue of helping teens bridge the care gap and become self-sufficient. (more information)

Results:
Nearly 500 teens each year are taught the life skills needed to help them stand on their own.

Strengthening Children & Families is one of four community impact areas that United Way of the Plains formed to address the issues that matter to this community.