Chance for a Life

My dream job is to become a lawyer but my passion is fashion.   In some ways I can't see myself being a fashion designer because I would want to use my passion for a good purpose, so I would like to start a non-profit clothing and make up line.  A portion of the money collected could be used for a building shelters for a homeless. But how is this related to this topic? Well, it does not give hope to me but will give to those who need it. After visiting a soup kitchen my will to do that became even more stronger. After visiting a soup kitchen I realize that what I consider courage or hope  to be is actually something different. People who visit a soup kitchen have a lot of courage and hope to continue with their life even they don't have a lot in their life; however, they will come in soup kitchen with smile on their faces and most of them will say "thank you". I grew up in totally different surrounding, back home in  Europe I went in private school and you would expect that people who have more would be nice and act with respect because they came from "good families" but in reality it is different. In the soup kitchen I saw a family with a little girl and that touched my heart because they didn't give up on her just because they don't have enough to support her. Those people have so much hope for their life. Usually when we saw a homeless person  on the street asking for money first thing that crosses not only my mind, but probably 99% of others, is that he needs money for a alcohol or drugs especially if that person is a youth, but actually we don't know the real truth. I want to focus on building shelters for homeless youth because it is hard to be homeless but especially when you are a youth. I want yo give chance to those kids to continue with their life, to finish school and get an education. I want to give them hope and courage for life. I found a lot of stories on the internet about youth who did not have life that they deserve and need. We all need a chance in our life, chance to live life on the way we deserve. 
-Franka

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq4qOtg4LXY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaWA2GbcnJU

 

Here are some stories:

"Lee left home at 15 after his relationship with his parents broke down and they asked him to leave.  He moved out at and lived in a number of youth hostels for a few months. Lee then met a girlfriend and they moved in together, but after the relationship ended Lee found himself alone again, with no support and nowhere to go.  Lee was once again homeless and he moved into a hostel in Poole, where he stayed for 4 months. This was not a not a happy time for Lee as he was one of the youngest people in the hostel, he felt vulnerable and many of the other people there were violent and agressive.  Lee was forced to move on again, and although he stayed with a friend for a short time, he was soon asked to move on and he ended up sleeping on the streets.  It was then that he was referred to New Forest Nightstop, where he stayed in the home of a local volunteer whilst our trained staff worked with Lee to find a solution to his housing crisis.  He is now in temporary accommodation where he feels comfortable and secure and is being helped to access long term housing and get back into education and gain his GCSE's."

-Lee's story

"Alison's parents were unable and unwilling to take care of Alison and she lived with her grandparents in the North East of England for most of her young life. At the age of just 16, she was made homeless when she was asked to leave her grandparents' home.  She spent a long time staying in friends  houses and different hostels, having to move on constantly. Unfortunately, Alison had a difficult time in many of these hostels, she was shy and nervous and found it hard to settle anywhere.  Some places made her feel scared as people were violent and were using drugs. She eventually fled, hoping to find a better solution.  She met someone who talked to her about Nightstop and who put her in contact with someone who could give her more information.  She was referred to Nightstop North East and was accepted.  She was provided with a safe place to stay in the home of local volunteers for three nights, whilst Nightstop staff helped her to access the benefits to which she was entitled.After discussing her housing options and talking about her experiences in the past, Nightstop staff managed to find her a place in a hostel more suitable to her needs and her situation. She moved into Simonside, a hostel run by Depaul UK in Newcastle.She is now hoping to get into full time employment, and is being helped to look for volunteer and training opppurtunties to help her succed."

-Alison's story

 Stories like those are around us all the time we have to just open our eyes and not follow stereotypes.