What Our Youth Are Facing — And How Project Legacy Is Helping
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, many of our friends and supporters continue to ask how we are doing at Project Legacy.
Over the past two weeks, we paid the rent for five of our young people so they wouldn’t be evicted when the eviction-protection is lifted. Our kids forward me emails from their landlords threatening to begin the eviction process as soon as they are able unless every penny is paid.
I often read these emails with sadness and anger as our young people are grappling with this new reality as best as they can, just like the rest of us, but without the support of their families and with the continuing disparity of generational racism, poverty and trauma.
I watch the Superintendent of the Rochester School District talk about a new television program that will carry lessons into the homes of families via a local television channel, but I can’t reach some of our kids to tell them the news because their internet has been shut off.
Following the news, a woman is featured in another show to tell parents how to set up their home environments to maximize their space for optimal learning — a new desk here for one child, learning stations with laptops and printers, natural light to keep spirits up, fresh fruit and organic snacks and recess supervised by mom in a big backyard.
My heart sank.
There are so many young people facing disparities in our community, and at Project Legacy, these are the children and families we work with. This is not their reality. Instead, our teens struggle to get their homework done at all because with schools and daycares closed, they are the ones now responsible for their younger siblings, the cleaning, cooking and laundry.
It is a heavy burden.
This is the reality of many of our young people and their families. At Project Legacy, we don’t just stand up for the marginalized, we stand up for the invisible. A harsh reality many of our young people experience, often caught in the gaps of our systems and schools and relief programs.
At Project Legacy, we raise money and offer wraparound support for young people about to become homeless, those experiencing abuse and neglect, and those working tirelessly to change the course of their lives and rise out of poverty to forge a new legacy.
It isn’t easy, and that’s why they need us — and that is why we need you.
“Miss Karen, I need to get back to Rochester. It’s getting too crazy down here at my mama’s house. Can you help me get back? I filled out an application for Walmart. I’ll take online classes at RCTC this summer. I can’t get sucked up by these streets again. I gotta get out of here.”
This work needs loud voices, bright lights and fearless advocates like you. With your help and by sharing the privilege and opportunities we have given to our own children, so can the young people at Project Legacy have the opportunities, health and safety like all children deserve to change their lives, reach their dreams and most importantly, experience the essential foundation of safety and love.
Thank you for your continued support as we navigate these unprecedented times. We are all in this together.