DETROIT (WXYZ) — It’s the reality tailing behind the tale of a rising city. Youth homelessness weighing down the narrative of thriving young people in Detroit.
In the Motor City, nearly ten percent of the homeless population is under the age of 24.
“The hard times was like the beginning of my life,” says James Ashley.
Some people think back to happy childhoods. But not Ashley, who says he endured years of abuse at the hands of his father.
“The abuse, thrown through walls, being choked. And I just decided, even as a teen, to just go my own way,” he says. “I just needed something over my head, and it didn’t need to be inside.”
James quickly found himself sleeping under the Detroit Public Library.
Around the time James was leaving his home, Amber Matthews was being forced out of hers.
“My mom, she felt like she prepared me well enough for life, so it was at that point she asked me to go,” Matthews says.
But Amber was just 15 years old, so young that she quickly fell into a human trafficking situation.
“They prey on that vulnerability that you have,” she says.
You might be surprised to learn that in the state of Michigan, One in ten students report not having stable housing. Black students are three times more likely than white to be homeless. And, unfortunately, many of them remain stuck in that predicament due to what critics say is a gaping hole between what teens need and what actually exists.
“They were saying that the programming was too strict, and it didn’t really align with their felt needs,” says Courtney Smith, CEO of Detroit Phoenix Center.
Seeking to close the gap, youth organizer Smith did something unconventional for a 26-year-old.
“I was the youngest CEO of a homeless service provider,” she says.
Jump starting the Detroit Phoenix Center, a first-of-its-kind one-stop shop offering wrap-around services for youth aged 13 to 24.
I want to show you just how full service this place is. From the Welcoming Center where teens can get some basic food and hygiene necessities, to the Flex Zone where you can study and search for a job, and the Zen Zone where you can relax and recharge.
“It is a place where they can rise and have opportunities to thrive,” says Smith.
Detroit Phoenix Center helps transform the lives of 150 young people every year- two of which are James and Amber.
For Amber, it’s meant a lifeline, emotionally and financially. The 24-year-old is now on staff here, helping others just like her.
For James, who just bought his first car, it’s meant freedom.
Proving that just like a phoenix, youth can emerge from the fire to rise above the ashes.
The Detroit Phoenix Center operates through funding from grants. But they also rely on individual donors. If you’d like to help - https://www.detroitphoenixcenter.org/
