Do you remember when you bought your first car all on your own? It was undoubtedly a mix of emotions. Maybe you saved up for a specific car that you saw for sale, or perhaps you knew that the right one would come along as soon as you had enough money for it. There’s the feelings of growing anticipation and excitement leading up to the moment you decide on a car, then the joy and the great sense of self-accomplishment after you accept your shiny new keys and officially become a car owner.
This week, one of our boys was able to accomplish two of his goals. First, he completed his internship at the Key Biscayne Police Department. Second, he purchased his first car. It wasn’t just an impulse buy, either. He worked really hard all summer and saved all of his money to buy this car. And before he started earning money for the car, he began preparing early on for his driver’s license. He had never had the opportunity to drive until moving to GHH. Here, he was able to practice regularly with his house mom and our board members until he had his driving skills down. He also utilized our partnership with Victory Lane Ministry to work on fixing our GHH truck and learn some car maintenance skills that will help him be able to change his oil and fix his own car in the future. Last school year, he sacrificed so much time taking a 3-hour bus ride to get to school everyday. This year, he will not only be able to drive to school much faster on his own, but will have pride and satisfaction knowing that his own hard work and dedication allowed him to change his life for the better. No matter how many times he gets kicked down, he has learned to stand right back up again, never giving up despite of the challenges. Our hope for all of our boys is that they learn this feeling of success and that we can help them use that to launch new beginnings in their lives.
Much can be done to better serve older children while they are in our care and to provide them with better opportunities as they transition out of the system. We offer programs that draw on community resources, promote a system of care, link youth to mentors, and teach them life skills that hold promise for improving their lives. With partners, we can do so much more! Please join us in helping our youth achieve successful new beginnings.