Broadway United Methodist Church

Broadway participates in the Youth Ally program of the Lakeview Action Coalition. That program focuses on services to and advocacy with the many homeless youth in the Lakeview neighborhood. Broadway's Committee recruits volunteers for service with the Night Ministry Program, which is the major direct service provider to homeless youth. It also mobilizes our membership for actions of advocacy with and for the youth with the police and other agencies toughing their lives.

The co-chairs for the 2009 program year are Greg Harris and Terry Brandt. Please contact either of them if you have and idea you would like the Committee to pursue or if you are interest in joining the Committee. The Committee meets at the church at 7:00 PM on the first Monday of the Month.

The Committee Activities

Freezing Fridays and Beat the Heat - In 2007 we had several occassions ot help the area's homeless youth. Youth Allies volunteered with the Night Ministries Freezing Fridays and Beat the Heat program to pass out food, blankets, clothing and other supplies to homeless youth in Lakeview. Volunteers helped to make lunches and spent time outside to pass out chili, cookies, sandwiches, hot chocolate or lemonade, and snacks to the youth on the street. The next outing will be a Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, (Fridays have been changed to Thursday for the first time) contact co-chairs to get specifics if you are interested in volunteering.

In November 2006, the Youth Allies attended a speak-out for the homeless and formerly homeless youth. During the event youth shared their powerful stories, art and music, which illustrated their struggles, successes and life on the street.

LAC Action - On December 5, 2006, the Lakeview Action Coalition (LAC) held a press conference and march in Solidarity with homeless youth in Lakeview to raise community awareness of the police abuse and harassment suffered homeless youth in this neighborhood. This press conference was held in conjunction with the release of a report that detailed the last three years of LAC's efforts to call the local Chicago Police Districts (19th and 23rd) into top accountability for a pattern of police abuse of homes youth in Lakeview. The night was a smashing success. In addition to members of the press from both radio(WGN) and print (Chicago Sun Times and Pioneer Press), approximately 120 people attended the conference and the march, including homeless youth and almost 20 people representing Broadway's Youth Allies Committee

Community Collection - To close out the year, 2006, the Church and World Concerns and the Youth Allies Committees collected hats, scarves, gloves and other clothing along with over $6560 worth of gift cards for the homeless youth and the Lakeview Pantry.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

• Join the Youth Allies Committee at BUMC.
• Volunteer with The Night Ministry

• 52 weeks a year, six nights a week, they bring services to 10 sites in six Chicago neighborhoods with their custom-built Health Outreach Bus. They take over 72,000 contacts with families, adults and youth in fiscal year 2006 alone, reaching approximately 5,600 individuals.
• they provide free health care and education, Rapid HIV testing and prevention counseling, referral assistance and listening ear to adults and youth.

Facts about homeless youth

• Alcohol and drug abuse at home: The greatest reason young people leave home according to a 2005 study conducted by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, is alcohol or drug abuse in their immediate family. In fact, 61.5% of homeless youth surveyed reported drug or alcohol problems in their home.
• Mental illness that is unnoticed or dismissed: Many leave because of undiagnosed or under treated mental illness. Depression and chronic despair are serious problems, along with low self-esteem and lack of caring connections with others.
• Sexual and gender orientation is a major factor: 26% of gay and lesbian youth must leave home because of family conflict stemming from their sexual orientation. Source: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Between 16% and 38% of youth living on the street identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual. Schools are no sanctuary, but more often places where gay, lesbian or questioning teens are harassed or assaulted.
• Physical, sexual or emotional abuse also lead young people to leave home: About 20% of youth in shelters reported physical abuse, 25% reported emotional abuse, and 25% to 33% reported neglect (U.S.Dept. of Health & Human Services, 1996)

DID YOU KNOW……………….

• Over the course of a year, approximately 25,000 youth in Illinois experience homelessness (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2005)
• Forty-five percent, or approximately 12,000 of these youth, have chronic homeless experiences, (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2001)
• There are 24 active emergency beds for runaway youth in the city of Chicago. The Night Ministry has 16 of those beds.