Lost and Found Youth Interview (With Rick Westbrook the founder of Lost and Found Youth)
Q: What has been the biggest challenge at Lost and Found Youth? A: When we started our charity, people said we were crazy and nobody would help us, that we needed to put it out of our heads. But we have done really well over the past years. Everyday I meet more and more kids and hear more and more stories, the problem is only getting worse, not better. Funding is always the biggest problem with a non-profit. We have gotten national and international recognition, but I still have not heard from the mayor of Atlanta and here is why. Normal funding for homelessness comes from HUD (housing and urban development).Yet their stipulations are somewhat antiquated. If you have the male genitalia you are a boy, if you have the female genitalia you are a girl, and the two can not sleep in the same room together. Those rules do not take in the LGBTQ community, and those are the people we serve, so that doesn't work for Lost and Found Youth. Due to this, we can not get money from the government since we would have to follow rules attached to the money. Q: How do you help the kids who come here become independant? A: Our youth hotline takes calls from LGBT youth in need, we encourage them to come over to the drop in center. Once they get to the drop-in center it is more one-on-one and we can evaluate if there are any signs of drug use, are there bruises, have they been hurt. That is where we start the process of getting all of the information that we need. We test them for HIV and STD's. Then, if we have space in the house, we will move them there if they are a good fit. Once they are in the house, whatever they need, we get them. Once they are fully in the program, we give them 30 days to find a job. We will help them with their resumes, interview skills, and help look for jobs. Once they have a job in the house, they have to start saving all of the money they get. Then we help them look for apartments and they get all of the things they need through our thriftstore. Q: How can kids help with homelessness? A: At Lost and Found Youth we are pretty open to everything. You can sort clothes, have a bake sale at school to raise money, you can serve a meal at the drop-in center, or if you really want to see what it is like on the streets, I will send you out with our outreach team. Also just what you are doing, bringing awareness and learning, makes a big difference.