Park Place Outreach: Bringing Hope to Troubled Youth
By Hohna Hartley
Shay* was only 14 when she discovered she was pregnant. Becoming a mom at such a young age was overwhelming, so she ran away from home, trying to escape the burden of her new responsibilities. But she returned after being gone only a couple of days. That’s when Shay’s mom suggested the Park Place Outreach, a youth shelter she’d heard about from a co-worker, as a means of helping Shay adjust to the dramatic changes she was undergoing.
At Park Place, Shay found a regimented schedule with rules and guidelines for everyday life. Rather than finding the routine constricting, Shay found comfort in the clear boundaries laid out for her and the other residents. “It was … inspirational,” Shay says. “At the shelter … everybody was out in the open. We got to share our problems.”
Park Place provides opportunities for residents like Shay to talk with one another about their difficulties, to meet one-on-one with counselors and to discuss issues with family members on neutral territory. For Shay, hearing about the challenges that other residents were facing changed her perspective on her own situation.
“I felt like my problems was the worst problems in the world,” she said. “But when I got there and was hearing about other people and their problems, that really opened my eyes that I’m not going through such a bad time as I think, compared to what somebody else is going through.”
For Shay, Park Place provided a brief, two-week respite where she could step outside of her troubles, gain new insight and renew her energy for the task of being a mom to her little girl. “When I got back home, I was more focused and more ready,” said Shay.
Each year, as many as 130 young people like Shay, ages 11-17, come to Park Place Outreach to receive temporary shelter, counseling and direction for the next phase of their lives. Opened in 1984 by individuals who wanted to make a difference for runaway homeless youth and youth in crisis, Park Place has been touching the lives of young people for two and a half decades.
Previously housed in a Victorian home more than a century old, Park Place moved last year into a newly renovated facility, still within the Victorian district downtown. The move has provided more room for staff offices and counseling, and the residents are benefiting from an improved living area that includes space for computers and tutorial sessions — both of which enable the residents to keep up with their school work while living at the center.
Though the location has changed, and the facility is fresh and new, the heart of the work at Park Place remains the same. Executive Director Linda Hilts Lamas and her staff continue to be dedicated to helping families and youth in crisis. According to Lamas, the shelter serves as a safe haven for kids in need.
Senior Case Manager Roberta Pringle has been offering help to kids in need since 1994. Pringle manages the shelter and provides individual and family counseling for residents and non-residents. When young people come into the shelter, Pringle tries to help them gain perspective on the difficulties they are facing.
“I use the ‘pie’ when I talk to them about what’s going on in their life,” Pringle explains, and says that she tells young people, “Right now, where you are in this shelter is just a little sliver of the pie. Your life is not going to be like this always. It’s just something that you’re going through right now.”
Pringle not only counsels young people and families, she also oversees the tutorial program, and the after-care services for former residents. As a part of after-care, Pringle encourages parents to let their children come back to the shelter for tutoring even after their stay is over. Former residents are also invited back to the shelter to volunteer, and are sometimes even given the opportunity to share their experiences with the current residents.
Over the years, Pringle has helped many young people. Sometimes they surprise her by coming back to thank her for the time they spent at Park Place. She tells the story of a young man who was driving a truck for the city, and stopped to talk to her as she was leaving the shelter one day. He walked up to her and asked, “Do you remember me?”
It turned out that the young man had been at the shelter when he was only 11 years old. Now a grown man with a job and family of his own, he took the time to stop and connect with Pringle, the woman who had helped him so many years ago.
The senior case manager is passionate about helping kids in need. “Working with people and helping them to make changes in their lives – that’s my calling,” said Pringle.
Helping young people who come to the shelter is part of Park Place’s mission, but the shelter also has an outreach program that goes into the streets of Savannah to connect with troubled and homeless youth. Tonyour Bolden is the Park Place outreach coordinator responsible for the outreach program.
Bolden operates the program from her office in the new facility, but she also oversees the mobile unit that is driven around Savannah in search of kids who need help. Bolden explains that a counselor and some teen employees will take the van to a housing area or apartment complex, park the vehicle and then walk through the neighborhood connecting with young people and parents, handing out flyers and cards and explaining about the services that the shelter provides.
Each year, up to 60 kids make a connection with the shelter as a result of the outreach program. Now, with the new Park Place facility, Bolden is hoping to reach even more. The lower level of the shelter is going to be opened as a drop-in center where kids ages 11-17 can come after school to get counseling, tutoring or just to take a break from whatever they might be facing at home or on the streets.
Bolden explains that young people are facing intense peer pressure, and that she is pleased to have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. She tells of letters that young people have written to the shelter, explaining how an outreach worker offered help and encouragement to them in a time of need.
This year, Park Place is celebrating its 25th anniversary of making a difference for kids and families in Savannah. The difference the Park Place staff is making is showing up in the lives of the young people they helped. Many are grown now, and are better equipped to make healthy choices for themselves.
Remember Shay? Her stay at Park Place was eight years ago, and she still stays in touch with the shelter. At 23, Shay is the mother of two daughters, and is almost finished with a degree in medical billing and medical assistance. She also enjoys creative writing and has written plays which are performed by her church. Looking back, she sees her stay at Park Place as an experience that gave her time to breathe, and helped her focus on exactly what she needed to do at that time in her life. “It’s a great place just to get a peace of mind,” she says.
*Name has been changed.
Find out more about Park Place Outreach at parkplaceyes.org.
Hohna Hartley is a Savannah-based freelance writer.
Shay* was only 14 when she discovered she was pregnant. Becoming a mom at such a young age was overwhelming, so she ran away from home, trying to escape the burden of her new responsibilities. But she returned after being gone only a couple of days. That’s when Shay’s mom suggested the Park Place Outreach, a youth shelter she’d heard about from a co-worker, as a means of helping Shay adjust to the dramatic changes she was undergoing.At Park Place, Shay found a regimented schedule with rules and guidelines for everyday life. Rather than finding the routine constricting, Shay found comfort in the clear boundaries laid out for her and the other residents. “It was … inspirational,” Shay says. “At the shelter … everybody was out in the open. We got to share our problems.”
Park Place provides opportunities for residents like Shay to talk with one another about their difficulties, to meet one-on-one with counselors and to discuss issues with family members on neutral territory. For Shay, hearing about the challenges that other residents were facing changed her perspective on her own situation.
“I felt like my problems was the worst problems in the world,” she said. “But when I got there and was hearing about other people and their problems, that really opened my eyes that I’m not going through such a bad time as I think, compared to what somebody else is going through.”
For Shay, Park Place provided a brief, two-week respite where she could step outside of her troubles, gain new insight and renew her energy for the task of being a mom to her little girl. “When I got back home, I was more focused and more ready,” said Shay.
Each year, as many as 130 young people like Shay, ages 11-17, come to Park Place Outreach to receive temporary shelter, counseling and direction for the next phase of their lives. Opened in 1984 by individuals who wanted to make a difference for runaway homeless youth and youth in crisis, Park Place has been touching the lives of young people for two and a half decades.
Previously housed in a Victorian home more than a century old, Park Place moved last year into a newly renovated facility, still within the Victorian district downtown. The move has provided more room for staff offices and counseling, and the residents are benefiting from an improved living area that includes space for computers and tutorial sessions — both of which enable the residents to keep up with their school work while living at the center.
Though the location has changed, and the facility is fresh and new, the heart of the work at Park Place remains the same. Executive Director Linda Hilts Lamas and her staff continue to be dedicated to helping families and youth in crisis. According to Lamas, the shelter serves as a safe haven for kids in need.
Senior Case Manager Roberta Pringle has been offering help to kids in need since 1994. Pringle manages the shelter and provides individual and family counseling for residents and non-residents. When young people come into the shelter, Pringle tries to help them gain perspective on the difficulties they are facing.
“I use the ‘pie’ when I talk to them about what’s going on in their life,” Pringle explains, and says that she tells young people, “Right now, where you are in this shelter is just a little sliver of the pie. Your life is not going to be like this always. It’s just something that you’re going through right now.”
Pringle not only counsels young people and families, she also oversees the tutorial program, and the after-care services for former residents. As a part of after-care, Pringle encourages parents to let their children come back to the shelter for tutoring even after their stay is over. Former residents are also invited back to the shelter to volunteer, and are sometimes even given the opportunity to share their experiences with the current residents.
Over the years, Pringle has helped many young people. Sometimes they surprise her by coming back to thank her for the time they spent at Park Place. She tells the story of a young man who was driving a truck for the city, and stopped to talk to her as she was leaving the shelter one day. He walked up to her and asked, “Do you remember me?”
It turned out that the young man had been at the shelter when he was only 11 years old. Now a grown man with a job and family of his own, he took the time to stop and connect with Pringle, the woman who had helped him so many years ago.
The senior case manager is passionate about helping kids in need. “Working with people and helping them to make changes in their lives – that’s my calling,” said Pringle.
Helping young people who come to the shelter is part of Park Place’s mission, but the shelter also has an outreach program that goes into the streets of Savannah to connect with troubled and homeless youth. Tonyour Bolden is the Park Place outreach coordinator responsible for the outreach program.
Bolden operates the program from her office in the new facility, but she also oversees the mobile unit that is driven around Savannah in search of kids who need help. Bolden explains that a counselor and some teen employees will take the van to a housing area or apartment complex, park the vehicle and then walk through the neighborhood connecting with young people and parents, handing out flyers and cards and explaining about the services that the shelter provides.
Each year, up to 60 kids make a connection with the shelter as a result of the outreach program. Now, with the new Park Place facility, Bolden is hoping to reach even more. The lower level of the shelter is going to be opened as a drop-in center where kids ages 11-17 can come after school to get counseling, tutoring or just to take a break from whatever they might be facing at home or on the streets.
Bolden explains that young people are facing intense peer pressure, and that she is pleased to have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. She tells of letters that young people have written to the shelter, explaining how an outreach worker offered help and encouragement to them in a time of need.
This year, Park Place is celebrating its 25th anniversary of making a difference for kids and families in Savannah. The difference the Park Place staff is making is showing up in the lives of the young people they helped. Many are grown now, and are better equipped to make healthy choices for themselves.
Remember Shay? Her stay at Park Place was eight years ago, and she still stays in touch with the shelter. At 23, Shay is the mother of two daughters, and is almost finished with a degree in medical billing and medical assistance. She also enjoys creative writing and has written plays which are performed by her church. Looking back, she sees her stay at Park Place as an experience that gave her time to breathe, and helped her focus on exactly what she needed to do at that time in her life. “It’s a great place just to get a peace of mind,” she says.
*Name has been changed.
Find out more about Park Place Outreach at parkplaceyes.org.
Hohna Hartley is a Savannah-based freelance writer.
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