2021-2022 Year in Review

New Avenues for Youth is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and intervention of youth homelessness. Since 1997, our programs and services have impacted more than 30,000 young people as they work to overcome barriers, pursue their goals, and realize their potential. From supporting basic needs like meals and counseling to providing opportunities for education, job training, employment, and housing, we meet youth where they are—and help them get where they want to go.

in the 2021-2022

from New

year.

From the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

Responding to evolving community needs has always been a priority for New Avenues and never more so than in the past year. As we rebound from the impacts of the pandemic, we continue to find innovative, effective ways to show up for young people and move strategic initiatives forward:

• We designed a mobile outreach model to bring support to youth where they are in the community to connect (and reconnect) them to services.

• We expanded services into Clackamas County, welcoming The Living Room (a culturally specific organization supporting LGBTQIA2S+ youth) to New Avenues.

• Our Youth Opportunity Center, once a daytime facility, is now a 24/7 hub for community-based services supporting unstablyhoused youth in East Multnomah County.

• We created the full-time position of Director of Equity & Inclusion to advance our equity-based efforts and commitment to reducing disparities for BIPOC youth.

• Our social enterprise screen-printing business New Avenues INK recently moved to a larger space that provides more mentored work opportunities for youth.

• In partnership with the Oregon Health Authority, we are expanding drug and alcohol recovery and mental-health supports for youth in Multnomah and Clackamas counties.

And in case you didn’t notice, we have a new logo and website—a fresh presence designed to better support youth, update the community on what we’re doing, and share opportunities for you to get more involved with New Avenues.

We’ve had to make some tough decision too. After five years, our Robinswood shelter for youth in foster care awaiting placement closed in June. While the program supported hundreds of young people in that time, challenges around administration and staffing impacted the feasibility of continuing operations. We are nevertheless invested in supporting these youth and are working with Oregon DHS to develop new community-based services for youth and caregivers that improve safety, stability, and transitions to future foster-care placements.

Homelessness has reached a crisis level in our community. We all see it. And the pandemic has only disconnected youth from school, the workforce, and services they need to be safe and supported.

As you will read in this 2021-2022 Year in Review, New Avenues is doing something about it. We are making a difference in the lives of individuals and the broader community. And your commitment to our efforts helps make it possible.

Gratefully, Sean Suib Executive Director

Executive Leadership

Board of Directors

Sturgeon Martin Moll Andrew Colas Pat Trunzo

Catharine Albers

Joan Tate Allen Penny Bewick David Biglen

Ashley Campion Josh Frankel Erin Gorsline Jasmin Grace

Ambassador Board

Evie Smith Hatmaker Brett Hayes Margaret Gervais Hinshaw

Mitchell Hornecker Travis Irving Heather Killough Bill Lehman

Lombard Sandra McDonough Mishawn Pedersen

Shim Sara Vanderhoff John Whitted

Boron

Herrig

Huber

Kersting

Lopiccolo

Menashe

Reeves

Seegmiller

White

Withnell

Alba Collaborative

Based at our Youth Opportunity Center (YOC) in East Multnomah County, the Alba Collaborative is a partnership between New Avenues, Latino Network, Youth Progress, and National Safe Place Network that offers culturally responsive case management, family mediation and reunification, crisis intervention, access to culturally specific emergency shelter and housing, street outreach, and connection to wraparound services. The Alba Collaborative also establishes National Safe Place Network sites—businesses, service providers, and spaces frequented by youth—that can link them to the YOC for services.

““You’ve been a great help to me and my family. I’m having a blast at school with my friends and new ones! I’m so happy this year in school, and it is way way way better than last year. I’m so very thankful to have someone like you to talk with.“ —J., Alba Collaborative participant

Check out the Alba Collaborative on TikTok!

368 youth connected to Alba Collaborative services.

New Day

Our New Day program supports young people experiencing sex trafficking, offering services including case management, mentorship and advocacy, client assistance, skill building, safety planning, a 24/7 hotline for crisis intervention, and access to housing.

439 service referrals were made by New Day.

““As a survivor myself, I am incredibly grateful to work for a program that serves over 200 youth survivors a year. When I think about the youth in New Day, I think about some of the most resilient, caring, resourceful and intelligent people I’ve ever gotten to meet.“

Kat Salas, New Day Program Manager

Drop-In

New Avenues’ Drop-In Center is a safe space where youth experiencing homelessness can receive three meals a day, as well as access to showers, hygiene products, clothing, laundry, free legal counsel, and activities focused on skill-building, health and wellness, and fun. Youth can also access case management (for ongoing support and referrals to housing, job training and placement, education, and more), our ROSE program for drug and alcohol recovery supports, and our Pathways program for mental-health services (onsite, in the community, or via telehealth).

96% of youth exits from our case-management services were to stable housing.

“Drop-In is so incredibly important in addressing the array of basic needs—not only meals and tangible supplies but connections with supportive, positive adults and a wide range of services. Part of what makes Drop-In so special is that it holds space for our youth at multiple stages of change, during multiple different stages of life.“

“

Carina Mariscal Diaz, Clinical Program Director

LGBTQIA2S+ Services

The Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC) provides culturally specific case management, counseling, education, engagement activities, and more for LGBTQIA2S+ youth. We also offer Bridge 13 community education, which provides workshops for schools, businesses, and organizations on how to better support and affirm LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. In an exciting recent development, The Living Room, a culturally specific organization serving LGBTQIA2S+ youth in Clackamas County, has become a program of New Avenues!

233 youth accessed services from SMYRC.

“Meeting people with shared identity is critical, and so is meeting people with a different perspective about the world. Watching the development of community over time is what makes me excited to come to work every day. Seeing youth come together to make incredible change or support someone in need makes my heart sing.“

Troy McKinlay, SMYRC Advocate

“

PAVE

Promoting Avenues to Employment (PAVE) offers job training, paid work experiences, and employment-placement support for youth. Working one-on-one with their Career Coaches, young people build the skills and experience to find jobs, identify career goals, and work toward economic stability. Unlike some workforce-development programs, PAVE focuses on more than immediate employment and income needs—it helps youth gain exposure to rewarding fields, invest in themselves, and land the job they want to keep.

“I have been a PAVE client for three years. The program ROCKS. My Career Coach has helped me so much along the way, supporting my career goals. They take me shopping when I need clothes for work, help with the bus fare, and connect me to awesome job opportunities.“

“

—E., PAVE participant

118 jobs and internships were secured by youth in PAVE.

Social Enterprises

New Avenues’ social enterprise Ben & Jerry’s PartnerShop and screen-printing business New Avenues INK help youth develop job skills, gain work experience, and earn wages in a mentored environment. The enterprises’ peer-supervision model also gives youth who have been promoted the opportunity to develop leadership and supervisory skills.

“From the moment I started accessing services I knew how valuable having New Avenues on your side was. The most valuable experience I gained, besides meeting all these wonderful people, was getting management experience at Ben & Jerry’s. I first got the position while I was houseless. It gave me the confidence I needed to move into a home. And I will be forever grateful.“

—D., participant in our social enterprises

“

$707,000 in sales revenue was generated by and reinvested in our social enterprises.

Housing

More than just putting a roof over a young person’s head, our Housing programs—from our site-based Transitional Housing to apartments in the community to options for specific populations like LGBTQIA2S+ youth and youth transitioning from foster care—focus on the needs of the individual. Our Housing case managers help youth build skills, make plans for the future, and connect to counseling, education, job training, employment, and other resources.

“Housing is the foundation for so many things. It’s hard to get stability in other areas of life without it. Housing is where it starts.“

Jade Young, Transitional Housing Case Manager

100% of youth who exited our Transitional Housing were in stable housing one year later.

New Meadows 100% of youth exits from New Meadows were to stable housing.

New Meadows is a 15-unit housing program based at the Dorothy Lemelson House (named for its founder, the late Dorothy Lemelson) that provides youth formerly in or transitioning from foster care with a safe place to live as they pursue education, career, and life goals. The program is co-located with Bridge Meadows’ multigenerational community in North Portland, providing youth the opportunity to connect to a support network of families and elders.

““I was able to fully use the fantastic resources of New Avenues to help me pursue my goals and continue adjusting to adulthood. My stay at New Meadows has been probably one of the best things that has happened in my life, and the advice and support I’ve gotten from programs like Avenues to College, Career Coaching, and ILP have been vital to my successes as a foster youth.“

—T., New Meadows resident and PDX-Connect participant

Avenues to College

Avenues to College (ATC) helps youth transitioning from foster care prepare for and succeed in college, including providing skill-based workshops and coaching related to funding and scholarship opportunities.

147 youth accessed services from Avenues to College.

“If it was not for Avenues to College I wouldn’t be where I am today, passing my classes, encouraged to stay in school, and on my way to getting a degree. Thank you to all the ATC folks who have helped me get here and continue to help me strive to be better on a daily basis.“

—R., Avenues to College participant

“

PDX-Connect

PDX-Connect supports youth in foster care as they prepare for and transition into adulthood. Our Independent Living Program (ILP) addresses needs like life-skills development, personal finance, drug and alcohol recovery and mental-health supports, education planning, job training and placement, and more.

370 youth accessed services from PDX-Connect.

“PDX-Connect ILP makes a huge difference and impact in the lives of the youth we are serving in both small and big ways—whether it’s giving them a break and taking them to lunch, supporting them to get into Driver’s Ed, or helping them access programs at New Avenues for building skills and career goals.“

“

Araceli Coronado, ILP Coach (Bilingual Specialist)

Education

Our Education program reengages youth with education, provides instruction and support for attaining GEDs, takes youth on educational outings and adventures, and prepares them for post-secondary education and employment. We also outreach to youth who are disconnected from school and provide support to help them reconnect.

““Our Education program aims to pick up where many traditional school settings have dropped off. We want to ensure youth have accessible, low-barrier, and safe opportunities to learn more about the world around them while setting them up for future successes.“

Norberto Rodriguez, Director of Workforce Development & Education

1,512 hours of tutoring were provided to youth preparing for the GED exam.

Events & Volunteers

The pandemic may have limited our events and volunteer program during the year, but you nonetheless found ways to show up for New Avenues and young people in our services. Whether you attended or volunteered at our Steve Allen Comedy Show or Brews for New Avenues, held donation drives in your community or place of business, or virtually contributed your time and expertise to our programming, you are a true difference-maker!

Thank you for supporting New Avenues!