March 28, 2023

Support Our Youth in Imaginative Ways

We’re so proud of all the work we do to support the youth facing homelessness who arrive at our doors. But we also love to support our youth in imaginative ways. In addition to serving their immediate needs of safety, food and shelter, we also take pride in the supportive services we provide such as education, employment, financial literacy, physical, spiritual and emotional wellness, and social navigation.

But support comes in many different forms. Sometimes it’s just about having fun and recognizing the many talents that our youth already have. So on Friday March 24th, we had an Open Mic Night to showcase some of their talents and well, just have some fun. Check out this 4 minute compilation of the evening.

Check out Open Mic Night

That fun included six youth performances along with one courageous staff member performance. The performances ranged from dramatic to soulful songs to rap, all appreciated by a raucous youth audience. A special thank you to Will Antoniou. Will has been our Music Class volunteer since December and pulled the programming together for the night. Will is one of our many terrific volunteers working with our youth one on one or in small groups. To learn more about volunteering, and how you can support our youth in imaginative ways, click here.

An important tenant of our care at CHNJ is that homelessness shouldn’t and doesn’t define our youth. It’s a circumstance they are experiencing that is transitory and we need to recognize the many talents they already possess. We’re fond of saying that the LEAST interesting thing about our youth is their homelessness. So our Open Mic Night was a big hit, not only because it was a fun evening for all, but was another way we could recognize how special our youth are and give us another opportunity to celebrate their goodness in a safe and supportive environment.