Street Youth Ministry Of Austin

TO KNOW,LOVE AND SERVE HOMELESS YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS SO THEY ACHIEVE MORE STABILITY, SOBRIETY AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING.WE PROVIDE PHYSICAL RELIEF TO HELP MEET IMMEDIATE NEEDS,BUT GUIDANCE CONSELING IS OUR PRIMARY AIM.

CLIENT SERVICES: STREET YOUTH MINISTRY (SYMIN) SERVES STREET-DEPENDENT YOUTH ("CLIENTS") WITH THREE STRATEGIES: MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE AND PROVIDE PHYSICAL RELIEF,ENGAGED THEM IN OUR CORE SERVICES, AND HELP THEM SET GOALS AND PRIORITIES FOR GROWTH AND HEALING. IN 2022, WE COMPLETED OUR FIFTH YEAR OF OPERATION IN OUR RENTED FACILITY NEAR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. WE TRANSITIONED FROM ENTIRELY POP-UP EVENTS IN BORROWED FACILITIES PRIOR TO 2017. IN 2022 WE MET 473 NEW CLIENTS OVERALL, 9.5 PER WEEK, UP 59% FROM 2021. WE SERVED 770 UNIQUE CLIENTS (UP 38%). THROUGH AUGUST, WE CONTINUED OUR PANDEMIC TRANSITIONED PROGRAM: (1) XDROP-BY" SERVICES - OUTDOOR COUNSELING AND SUPPLIES HANDED OUT AT A DISTANCE FROM OUR MAIN FACILITY, (2) ON-LINE AND HYBIRD GROUP EVENTS HOSTED ON ZOOM, CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O

SEE SCHEDULE O

INTERNSHIPS: SYMIN TRAINS FUTURE LEADERS THROUGH OUR PAID INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. OVER 10 WEEKS, INTERNS ARE TRAINED TO LEAD VOLUNTEER-BASED, URBAN POVERTY-INFORMED MINISTRIES. SOME GO ON TO SERVE OR START MINISTRY WORK AT THEIR CHURCHES. OTHERS AUGMENT THE HUMANITARIAN ASPECTS OF THEIR PLANNED CAREERS, E.G., TEACHING, LEGAL, MEDICAL, ETC. SOME JOIN SYMIN STAFF. ALL STAFF AND INTERNS RECEIVE OUR SPECIFIC, REPEATABLE TRAINING CURRICULUM,INCLUDING A TEXTBOOK ON STREET YOUTH CULTURE, WEEKLY VIDEO DISCUSSION OF THE BOOK,WEEKLY VIDEO TRAINING,HANDOUTS ON PRACTICAL SKILLS, A WEEKLY PROJECT TO CEMENT THE LEARNING IN PLACE, AND HANDS-ON,SUPERVISED DAILY WORK. IN 2022, WE TRAINED 12 INTERNS (UP 50% FROM 2021). CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O

PUBLIC AWARENESS: SYMIN RAISES PUBLIC AWARENESS BY TELLING STORIES FROM THE STREET, USING MEDIA, PUBLIC SPEAKING AND CLASS PROJECTS AT ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION. STREET YOUTH ARE FREQUENTLY INVISIBLE, NOT UNDERSTOOD, AND ALWAYS UNDERSERVED. WE PROVIDE DOWNLOADABLE AND PRINTED RESOURCES, LEAD SERVICE PROJECTS, SUPPLY PUBLIC SPEAKERS, AND PUBLISH AWARENESS-RAISING NEWSLETTERS. OUR PUBLIC AWARENESS PROGRAM INCREASES THE VISIBILITY OF NEEDS FOR OUR POPULATION, AND SOME OTHER FAITH-BASED WORKERS WHO STARTED WITH US AS VOLUNTEERS OR MET US AT PUBLIC AWARENESS EVENTS HAVE BEGUN SERVING STREET YOUTH INTENTIONALLY. OUR NEWLETTER BASE IN 2022 IS 7,026, DOWN 20% TO 2021. OUR OPEN RATES ARE VERY HIGH, BUT THE PANDEMIC SEEMS TO HAVE CAUSED EMAIL AVERSENESS, AND BOUNCING EMAILS ACCOUNT FOR A SIGNIFICANT CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O