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Videos and articles featuring the I Am Now, Inc. "Crossroads" Transitional
Living Home Program from the local news and interviews.
Living Home Program from the local news and interviews.
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| Homeless Youth in Guilford County between the ages of 18-23 |
Homeless students: Nowhere they can call home By J. Brian Ewing
Read Article or Click Headlines to view video on Digtriad.com (videos will begin after ad.)
How "I AM NOW Inc," is Making A Difference for Homeless Young Men
High Point, NC -- Most teenagers look forward to 18 as a milestone of independence. But for
kids in foster care, that age can bring a lot of pain. It's the time most foster kids age out of the
system. The state stops paying the people who have been taking care of them, and many
teenagers end up on the street. It's a crisis one local man lived through. Now, he's on a
mission to help others.
26-year-old Travis Burrell is proud to show off the first home he's bought. The six bedroom
house in High Point isn't for his own family. It's for those without a family.
"We don't really see this population. They're not standing outside with a sign saying we're
homeless," he says. They're foster kids, aging out of the system. "When they turn 18 they're put
in a situation where they have to step out on their own and they're not ready, truthfully."
Travis knows that first-hand.
"I grew up in foster homes and group homes."
Now an entrepreneur with his own marketing company, Travis says he was blessed.
"Mentors really stepped in my life and kinda took me under their wing."
His two younger brothers weren't so lucky. "They're in prison now. They've been in prison now
for 6 years." Travis wasn't able to save his brothers, but with this free transitional home, he's
determined to help others who are lost.
"They don't have to worry about where am I going to sleep, what am I going to eat." And that's
not all.
"We're going help them with education, entrepreneurialship, job placement, building character,
bridging that gap between the community and them."
Travis is calling the home crossroads. He says it represents the point in life where young
people make the decision to turn right or wrong.
He wants to open the home as soon as possible. He says he just needs to finish furnishing it.
If you want to make a donation or become a mentor, call 906-5150.
WFMY News 2
Homeless Student Sleeps In His High School
High Point, NC -- Antonio King looks like any other member of the Andrews Track and Field
team. As a foster kid, he never wanted to be seen as different.
"I was in a group home in High Point, right down the road," King says. But even that came to an
end.
"The closer you get to 18 DSS says, pretty much, you have to go." But King didn't have anywhere
else to go.
"I was stuck. It was either walk the streets all night and be cold, or stay in the school and have a
warm place to stay."
So after his last class on a Friday afternoon, he hid.
"I would get up on the toilet so no one could see my feet. I would sit there for hours until
everyone was gone."
At night he studied, then went to sleep. He showered on weekends.
"I had a friend, I would go down to his house and wash up. I would switch out a shirt everyday
so people wouldn't think I was wearing the same shirt everyday, and I carried on."
After a few weeks, he thought someone might be catching on.
"I knew I had to go somewhere else. One night, I just walked the streets for hours. And I finally
decided I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I just started checking windows, and finally O
found one that was unlocked."
"When I came through the window, an alarm went off. I heard a dog. My first reaction was to run.
I ran outside. Police had surrounded the whole school. One of the police officers told me to get
down on the ground or he'd shoot. When I looked around, his gun was right there."
King was arrested and taken to the police station, where he got the chance to explain himself to
the principal.
"She said you're going home with me tonight. I didn't have anywhere else to go. She fed me. I
hadn't eaten a meal in two weeks. I would eat lunch at school and that was it. I had worn the
same clothes, underwear, socks for about a week. She got me some clean clothes. I was really
thankful."
King has even more to be thankful for today.
"I have my own bed. I never have to worry about going hungry. I can wash and dry my clothes
whenever I want. We even have three showers."
He got one of eight beds at Joseph's House, a place for homeless young adults.
"I did what I had to do to survive. Some people would have given up and not made it. I'm still
here."
To find out more about Joseph's House, visit www.josephshouse.net or call Rev. Nancy
McLean at (336) 389-9887.
There is another organization offering similar services, I Am Now. You can find out more about
that program by clicking on "Former Foster Child Wants To Help Others" in our local news
section.
WFMY News 2
Read Article or Click Headlines to view video on Digtriad.com (videos will begin after ad.)
How "I AM NOW Inc," is Making A Difference for Homeless Young Men
High Point, NC -- Most teenagers look forward to 18 as a milestone of independence. But for
kids in foster care, that age can bring a lot of pain. It's the time most foster kids age out of the
system. The state stops paying the people who have been taking care of them, and many
teenagers end up on the street. It's a crisis one local man lived through. Now, he's on a
mission to help others.
26-year-old Travis Burrell is proud to show off the first home he's bought. The six bedroom
house in High Point isn't for his own family. It's for those without a family.
"We don't really see this population. They're not standing outside with a sign saying we're
homeless," he says. They're foster kids, aging out of the system. "When they turn 18 they're put
in a situation where they have to step out on their own and they're not ready, truthfully."
Travis knows that first-hand.
"I grew up in foster homes and group homes."
Now an entrepreneur with his own marketing company, Travis says he was blessed.
"Mentors really stepped in my life and kinda took me under their wing."
His two younger brothers weren't so lucky. "They're in prison now. They've been in prison now
for 6 years." Travis wasn't able to save his brothers, but with this free transitional home, he's
determined to help others who are lost.
"They don't have to worry about where am I going to sleep, what am I going to eat." And that's
not all.
"We're going help them with education, entrepreneurialship, job placement, building character,
bridging that gap between the community and them."
Travis is calling the home crossroads. He says it represents the point in life where young
people make the decision to turn right or wrong.
He wants to open the home as soon as possible. He says he just needs to finish furnishing it.
If you want to make a donation or become a mentor, call 906-5150.
WFMY News 2
Homeless Student Sleeps In His High School
High Point, NC -- Antonio King looks like any other member of the Andrews Track and Field
team. As a foster kid, he never wanted to be seen as different.
"I was in a group home in High Point, right down the road," King says. But even that came to an
end.
"The closer you get to 18 DSS says, pretty much, you have to go." But King didn't have anywhere
else to go.
"I was stuck. It was either walk the streets all night and be cold, or stay in the school and have a
warm place to stay."
So after his last class on a Friday afternoon, he hid.
"I would get up on the toilet so no one could see my feet. I would sit there for hours until
everyone was gone."
At night he studied, then went to sleep. He showered on weekends.
"I had a friend, I would go down to his house and wash up. I would switch out a shirt everyday
so people wouldn't think I was wearing the same shirt everyday, and I carried on."
After a few weeks, he thought someone might be catching on.
"I knew I had to go somewhere else. One night, I just walked the streets for hours. And I finally
decided I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I just started checking windows, and finally O
found one that was unlocked."
"When I came through the window, an alarm went off. I heard a dog. My first reaction was to run.
I ran outside. Police had surrounded the whole school. One of the police officers told me to get
down on the ground or he'd shoot. When I looked around, his gun was right there."
King was arrested and taken to the police station, where he got the chance to explain himself to
the principal.
"She said you're going home with me tonight. I didn't have anywhere else to go. She fed me. I
hadn't eaten a meal in two weeks. I would eat lunch at school and that was it. I had worn the
same clothes, underwear, socks for about a week. She got me some clean clothes. I was really
thankful."
King has even more to be thankful for today.
"I have my own bed. I never have to worry about going hungry. I can wash and dry my clothes
whenever I want. We even have three showers."
He got one of eight beds at Joseph's House, a place for homeless young adults.
"I did what I had to do to survive. Some people would have given up and not made it. I'm still
here."
To find out more about Joseph's House, visit www.josephshouse.net or call Rev. Nancy
McLean at (336) 389-9887.
There is another organization offering similar services, I Am Now. You can find out more about
that program by clicking on "Former Foster Child Wants To Help Others" in our local news
section.
WFMY News 2
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