The Youth
According to Homelessness in the Denver Metropolitan Area Fall Point in Time Study, January 29, 2007, 3,374 of the 10,604 homeless people in the Denver area are youth and young adults (between the ages of 0 and 24). Many of these youth live with mothers and fathers on the streets or are in other temporary housing. Many of them live all on their own; walking the streets and sleeping wherever shelter is found. This is the situation in which Dry Bones typically meets young people.
There are many reasons for homelessness among youth. A good majority of the kids come from homes where they have been physically, emotionally, and/or sexually abused. Other youth are not properly cared for by their parents, some are driven onto the streets by their addictions, and still a few others have chosen a rebellious lifestyle.
The group of self proclaimed “street kids” that Dry Bones ministers among range in age from 12 on into their mid-twenties. Our services are geared and evolve around their needs. Dry Bones finds great hope for this population of younger homeless youth. These kids have not yet given up and they maintain a level of self-respect. Their addictions are new or just forming. Mental illness is present but not common across the board.
As we reach out to serve and love these young people, we hope that you will want to join in as well. So many people pass by the homeless daily without even a smile to give away. Each day these kids begin to believe more and more that they are, as they refer to themselves, "throw-a-ways" and “outcasts” of society. Join us as we remind the youth on the streets of their unsurpassable value and promising future.
Your life will be equally blessed and served by your new friends. Dry Bones is focused on creating genuine relationships between people of many backgrounds and personalities. We always avoid taking an “us versus them” attitude. All Dry Bones activities are a two-way street where everyone is challenged to see the world differently and grow in positive directions together.