New Alternatives

Derek and Vanessa

August 12th, 2011

 

New Alternatives helped clients Derek and Vanessa move from the shelter into their first apartment and purchased necessary household supplies for them.

Inri, 24

May 11th, 2010

Inri was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He came to New Alternatives with some friends whom he met while living on the streets of New York City.

What Inri likes the most about New Alternatives are the volunteers. “I want to be like them, one day,” he says. “They’re such great people. They inspire me to do something good with my life.”

Inri started attending college classes, but was forced to stop because he didn’t have enough money. For several months, he lived in the parks of Manhattan before moving into a youth shelter.

With the money he makes as a temporary worker, he hopes to eventually return to school, get his bachelor’s degree and move abroad where he hopes to teach English as a second language.

Inri loves attending New Alternatives’ Life Skills Workshops. “We all learn things from one another,” he says.

Jaylynn, 17

May 11th, 2010

Jaylynn is a native of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, NY. Since his early childhood, he has lived with a number of foster families, a very unstable situation that the young man describes as “horrendous.”

Jaylynn enjoys coming to New Alternatives on Sunday nights. “Here, I can be myself,” he says. “I learn to advocate for myself as a gay man.”

Jaylynn particularly enjoys New Alternatives’ Life Skills Workshops that encourage him to stay driven and never lose hope, thanks to the support of the volunteers and his peers. “They push me,” he says.

From the cramped bedroom he shares with three other teenagers in an East New York foster home, Jaylynn wishes for the simple things: a space of his own, a high school diploma, and the chance to go to college. His ultimate goal is to become a politician. He also longs to be reunited with his younger sister, Ebony, whom he rarely sees and misses very much.

Despite the difficulties Jaylynn has faced, he is optimistic and always shares his good spirits with his peers at New Alternatives, a safe place where he has found a new family.