When you can't just #stayhome

By now, we all know how we're supposed to protect ourselves in light of the current COVID-19 threat. Stay Home. Wash your hands. Avoid people, and if you must come into contact with them, at all costs, stay six feet away. But what happens when you don't have a home? What if you can't wash your hands because you don't have access to running water? What if closed nonprofits and scarce resources have limited your access to health and hygiene supplies? What do you do when the overcrowding of shelters makes it physically impossible to keep your distance from other individuals. What happens when you're couch hopping and have no say over who you come into contact with?

These are all the harsh realities for youth experiencing homelessness in the COVID-19 crisis. Following best practices to stay well is not always feasible for this vulnerable population. Our youth are facing more barriers than ever to safety and security. Concerns over gathering in large groups have led to changes in services from drop-in centers. The closures of local businesses and community spaces, such as libraries, have limited warm places to reside during the day. Shelters are overcrowding, and transit lines are decreasing, making it harder to find safety at night. For school-aged youth facing housing insecurity, the school closures have cut off their usual access point for safety, basic needs resources, and food.

However, amidst the changes and uncertainty, we are encouraged by our community's response and inspired by the ever-adaptable nature of our fellow nonprofits. This crisis has not slowed us down in our ultimate vision to end youth homelessness. If anything, we are more confident than ever that the work we are doing is necessary. Youth are in dire need of critical support and pathways out of homelessness and towards financial stability, and we will continue meeting those needs no matter what. Will you join us in the fight? 

Here are four ways to help support the homeless youth community now: 

• Use Your Voice. This one requires urgent action but is the easiest (and it's free), so let's get at it together! Our Minnesota State Legislature is considering bills to address the COVID-19 pandemic right now, including a recommendation by the Governor to increase levels of support, shelter, housing, and healthcare for people experiencing homelessness. Now is the time to use your voice. Contact your state legislators immediately and advocate that they support the Homes For All recommendation of $50 Million for support of emergency shelters and $100 million for rental assistance. Many Minnesotans are currently experiencing homelessness, and the unexpected unemployment crisis is pushing those already at-risk of homelessness closer to the edge. Head here to submit a message in less than a minute! Your help can save lives.

  On an advocacy roll? This is bigger than just Minnesota, and we need to advocate at the Federal Level, too. The Emergency Supplemental Spending bill does not currently include aid for people experiencing homelessness, even though this community is at high risk. Use  True Colors United to send a message to Congress, urging them to prioritize providing funding for the homeless population in response to the Coronavirus. 

• Donate. We know these are times of financial stress for all of us, and you are probably getting a lot of requests for help from other sources. Many of us are laid-off, facing cutbacks, or experiencing a loss of benefits and other aid, which is tough. The future is uncertain, and we feel that anxiety and fear, as well. Unfortunately, usually when things get tight is right when we need more support than ever. Right now, most nonprofits are facing an unexpected and devastating loss of projected funds. Altered grant deadlines and shifted funding to meet Covid-19 related needs have caused considerable changes in projected income. The ban on gatherings has forced cancellations of spring fundraisers that many nonprofits rely on. Panic over employment has led to a decline in individual giving. All this, while we're trying to increase services to match the drastically rising need of our most vulnerable people groups affected by the pandemic. If you can continue previously planned donations or provide a special gift to help the Wildflyer youth through this time, we would be so grateful.  

• Drink Coffee. First, a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our #staywell promotion last week. Thanks to you, we packaged and shipped the biggest order of coffee in Wildflyer history! More importantly, it provided extra hours for our employees. We want to always be transparent and honest with our community. In light of yesterday's shelter from home order, we are not currently employing youth to package coffee at this time. Read this post for more information on the decision, and to see how we are continuing to support youth through this time. Your continued patronage in this difficult time will help ensure there is a Wildflyer for our employees to return to after this is over. It also helps us continue employing our staff who are hard at work supporting youth in other ways until this pandemic passes.

• Send Supplies. If things are tight and you can't give money, which is a very sudden and real reality for many of us, consider donating supplies. You know how grocery shelves are bare, hand sanitizer is gone, and toilet paper is suddenly a luxury good? As challenging as it may have been for you to find basic needs, it's ten times harder for youth experiencing homelessness. Sanitation is hard enough when you're unstable or sleeping outside, but add to it the depleting stock of hygiene supplies, and the risk of exposure rapidly increases. Keep in mind, many of our youth can't merely" stay home" until this passes. They rely on crowded shelters, couch-hopping with acquaintances or strangers, or the public transit system for a place to stay at night. They may have little say over the conditions of their surroundings, putting them at a higher risk of exposure.

  Please contact Carley Kammerer at carley@wildflyercoffee.com to arrange a drop-off of donations. Or, make it even easier on yourself and head on over to our Amazon Wishlist and have it shipped straight to Wildflyer. 

  What our youth need the most:

  Cub Gift Cards

  Target Gift Cards

  Hand sanitizer

  Toilet paper 

  Hand lotion

  Non-perishable food items

  Disinfecting Wipes

  Disinfecting Spray 

Staying home is not a reality for many. With your help, we can support vulnerable, at-risk youth experiencing homelessness and see them through this crisis. We're in this together. 

Thank you,

The WFC team