Audrey Maddox
Features Editor

Photos Courtesy Troy Sides

Some teens are homeless. They end up sleeping behind a dumpster, couch surfing or living in their cars. They don’t announce their condition on street corners, but Mesa County has there are an estimated 160 homeless teens in any given year. For a long time, they had to hide under the radar with nowhere to escape and no way to move forward.

In May 2012, a local non-profit known as Karis Inc. decided to do something about it, and they opened a shelter for teens called ‘The House.’

“The thing for me that was really transformative was realizing that they had nowhere else to go,” Executive Director of Karis Inc. John Mok-Lamme said. “We had all of these adult services, but I felt that we left our teens out in the cold.”

By creating supportive communities and teaching self-sustainability, The House changes the lives of the teens that seek out its services. Teens are provided with mental health services, counseling, job placement, housing, and healthy activities. After three weeks, the teens move onto a permanent and healthy environment if possible.

“The first thing we do is help teens connect to healthy communities,” Mok-Lamme said. “Teen homelessness is fundamentally about lack of relationships and lack of social contacts. It’s really not about housing. If a teen is embedded in a healthy, caring, strong community, that community will almost always take care of the teen.”

The House is run by a small staff and many volunteers. They work together to create a supportive environment that allows the teens to thrive. Together, they form lasting relationships through sharing meals, stories and games.

“Everybody has their past, everybody has been through stuff, but these kids have plans, they know where they are going in life,” volunteer at The House and CMU sophomore Clancy Garoutte said. “They have goals that they work toward every week, which is awesome, because not a lot of people do that in general.”

It may be difficult for some people to understand how so many teens could end up in need of so much help.

“When you’re fortunate, and you’re on campus, and you’re coming from a family where you’ve had a lot of support, it’s easy to not understand how difficult the circumstances are for some teens and for some people,” Mok-Lamee said.

For employee Troy Sides, it was impossible to know the troubles that these teens face without wanting to help. He started working for the shelter when it opened, but with time his passion for the cause has grown.

“Seeing it face to face and meeting these teens and getting connected with them, hearing their stories and seeing their plights with your own eyes, it’s really hard to not have a connection to it,” Sides said. “Now it’s invaded your life and you’re involved in it. I feel I haven’t even drunk that cup dry yet. I feel like there is still a lot for me to absorb as far as being connected to the issue and to their plights.”

Even though the volunteers may not be able to spend as much time at The House as the staff does, they still have a huge impact on the lives of the teens.

“Volunteers take chunks out of their life to invest in these teens,” Sides said. “It’s a big sacrifice on their parts. We’re Americans. We’re busy people. We can find plenty of reasons to stay busy. The volunteers don’t have much time there, but their motive is driven simply by a love and passion for the mission. The intensity and dedication that they bring to the table is really amazing to see.”

At the end of a teen’s stay at The House, they are given a chance to have a better life and better circumstances. Teens have shown significant improvements in mental health and stable homes even six months down the road.

The House always appreciates help from donors or volunteers. The easiest way to help The House is to like them on facebook.com/TheHouseGJ.

akmaddox@mavs.coloradomesa.edu