MoveFwd helps young people navigate relationships

Growing up is hard. Even for young people nurtured by supportive families and friends. So imagine what it’s like for young people facing abusive relationships. These stories from MoveFwd counselors help paint a picture of the work we do.

“Katie” is an artist at heart. She’s a good student and a talented musician. She wasn’t always good at protecting herself from destructive relationships, though. She hit a spot in her young life where maintaining a relationship with an abusive boyfriend - layered on top of anxiety and depression - started interfering with school and her other interests. MoveFwd counselors helped her learn to cope with her underlying anxiety and depression issues and taught her tools for setting boundaries to avoid abusive relationships. She started flourishing in school again and re-discovered music.

“Gabriel” and his mom were recent immigrants. The lives they left in Africa and their journey here were harrowing. Sometimes it’s hard to flip the switch from surviving a crisis to everyday life. Navigating the new culture layered upon the trauma they experienced left Gabriel and his mom struggling with their relationship. Before they sought out family counseling through MoveFwd, Gabriel was on the verge of leaving home at 15. Gabriel and his mom used the communication skills they learned from our counselors to cultivate a supportive and mutually respectful relationship with each other. He is now home with his family and they’re learning to love Minnesota.

For more than 25 years, we have helped young people like “Katie” and “Gabriel” land on their feet when things get too hard to face alone. MoveFwd supports homeless and at-risk kids and their families with quick-response, barrier-free, no-cost counseling and case management. We serve young people at the older end of the spectrum with our housing program and Drop-in Center. Homelessness in our suburbs is a growing problem. Donors like you make our work possible. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for helping us help families and schools take care of our community’s young people.

MoveFwd provides a stepping stone to early independence

Sometimes independence is thrust upon young people who aren’t ready for it. MoveFwd staff provides a safety net to help them succeed as they learn to make their own way. Here’s a story to demonstrate how we can help.

“Amelia” got caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce. She was 18 and neither parent was willing to continue supporting her – either financially or emotionally. She was legally an adult, but she lacked the skills, income and experience to navigate independence on her own. She was overwhelmed and on the verge of living on the streets. But she found her way to our drop-in center.

At MoveFwd, she found case managers who know the ropes. Amelia had already demonstrated courage and determination. She had a part-time job and was proving that she worked hard and could be trusted. But rent is expensive, she didn’t have savings for a damage deposit and her wages weren’t high enough to afford a safe place. Amelia’s case manager knew she was ready for our housing program.  She walked her through the application process, acted as an advocate with a potential landlord and agreed that MoveFwd would subsidize her rent at the beginning.

We also worked with Amelia to help her succeed as a new renter. We met regularly to help her learn about budgets, meal planning, setting boundaries with friends and being a good neighbor. After just a few months, Amelia was working more hours and started paying a higher portion of her rent. By the end of a year, she was paying all of it and her impressed landlord offered her a new one-year lease.

For over 25 years, we have helped young people like “Amelia” land on their feet when things get too hard to face alone. MoveFwd supports homeless and at-risk kids and their families with quick-response, barrier-free, no-cost counseling and case management. We serve young people at the older end of the spectrum with our housing program and drop-in center. All four programs are indispensable to our mission. Homelessness in our suburbs is a growing problem. Donors like you make our work possible. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for helping us help families and schools take care of our community’s young people.

MoveFwd counsels young people to cope with complicated emotions

Sometimes the bravest thing a young person can do is ask for help. While we all want happiness for the young people in our communities, life dishes up rough stuff for some and others have trouble coping with “normal” situations. These two stories show how MoveFwd counselors help kids manage their emotions.

“Adam” is the kind of kid who goes about his business. He does well in school. He’s not one of the boisterous boys and he wasn’t taught to talk much about his feelings. Adam had a few close friends. He was surprised when one of them started experimenting with drugs, but assumed his friend “could handle it.”  He was worried when he realized that his best buddy had succumbed to addiction and his feelings were hurt to learn that he wasn’t “Ben’s” best friend any more.  Adam was shattered when his best friend died of an overdose.

MoveFwd counselors helped Adam work through his grief and cope with the loss, helping him to stay focused in school.

“Sam” also wants to do well in school. But, unlike Adam, Sam wore his heart on his sleeve. Everyone knew when he was feeling angry or frustrated, because he would explode into violent tirades. His teachers were frustrated with Sam for disrupting classes and frequent trips to the principal’s office interfered with his success in school. Sam realized that his outbursts were inappropriate and scary for his classmates. But he just couldn’t control himself when his feelings were hurt or when things didn’t seem fair.

Counselors at MoveFwd helped Sam learn to reduce and appropriately express his hurt and anger.  He stopped having violent episodes at school and got back on track to graduate.

For over 25 years, we have helped young people like “Adam” and “Sam” land on their feet when things get too hard to face alone. MoveFwd supports homeless and at-risk kids and their families with quick-response, barrier-free, no-cost counseling and case management. We serve young people at the older end of the spectrum with our housing program and drop-in center. All four programs are indispensable to our mission. Homelessness in our suburbs is a growing problem. Donors like you make our work possible. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for helping us help families and schools take care of our community’s young people.

MoveFwd Drop-in Center provides a safety net to homeless young people

Our counselors and case managers help young people manage complex emotions, navigate complicated relationships and even learn skills to survive independence when they’re forced out on their own too soon. Everything we do is youth-centered and family-focused. We work to prevent homelessness among at-risk youth and find safe housing for kids on the street.

We are connected to your community’s schools and most of our referrals come from school staff. But parents and young people can contact MoveFwd directly. And our drop-in center welcomes young people four afternoons every week.

Here’s a difficult story that demonstrates the value of our newest program - the MoveFwd Drop-in Center - to all of us. A few weeks ago, “Justine” appeared at our doorstep during drop-in hours with two suitcases and a few dollars in crumpled bills. Her mom drove her here, leaving her at the curb with only this advice: “Don’t call me.” Because she’d only been in Minnesota a short time, she didn’t know even one single person to call after her mom drove away. Only 18 years old, she was shocked and scared. MoveFwd staff rallied around her. We found her a bed for the night, and by the time we dropped her off, she had stopped shaking.

For more than 25 years, we have helped young people land on their feet when things get too hard to face alone. MoveFwd supports homeless and at-risk kids and their families with quick-response, barrier-free, no-cost counseling and case management. We serve young people at the older end of the spectrum with our housing program and drop-in center. All four programs are indispensable to our mission. Homelessness in our suburbs is a growing problem. Donors like you make our work possible. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for helping us help families and schools take care of our community’s young people.