Youth Emergency Services (YES, yesomaha.org), encourages those that are or know someone who is homeless or near homeless that needs help to reach out. They know how difficult it can be, having a firsthand account from Kianna on what it’s like growing up homeless and pregnant.
Kianna, having grown up in foster care, left at age 18 with no idea of how to take care of herself. She adapted the best she could, though she was still alone and pregnant. Also struggling with mental health, Kianna realized she needed intervention and asked for help, resulting in her admittance to a mental health program. Kianna was doing well, but was going to age out of the program quickly and needed to find an alternative program.
After doing some research, and looking for solutions to fix her immediate housing issues, Kianna found YES. She came to the Street Outreach Center looking for help and was met with open arms and smiles.
Being pregnant, the staff encouraged Kianna to apply for YES and Maternity Group Home (MGH). MGH program provides services to homeless youth, ages 16-21 who are pregnant or parenting and may not otherwise be able to access services. The youth and young adults live in a family-style residence for a maximum of 18 months and work closely with a case manager to set and accomplish goals. It was here that Kianna learned how to survive and succeed.
Youth Emergency Services assists youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and near homelessness. For more information, go to yesomaha.org.