A Safe Place to Land
Daniel has been doing a lot of job interviews lately — both as an applicant and as the one asking the questions.
Fresh out of high school with his diploma in hand, he’s been sitting in on interviews for new Boys & Girls Aid Youth Care Advocates as practice for his own job search. “I’ve been able to ask some of the questions, and it’s taught me a lot about how to communicate better,” he says.
Daniel is one of many young people who have found support at Safe Place, Boys & Girls Aid’s shelter for youth who have run away or are experiencing homelessness. While many might assume that staying at a homeless shelter is the end of the road, Daniel has found it to be a path to a brighter future. “Safe Place is all about setting you up to thrive,” Daniel says. “I consider it a stepping stone — they’ll help you, but at the end of the day it’s still you doing what you need for yourself.”
Now he’s preparing to move into his first apartment and enroll in college. But when he first arrived at Safe Place in Hillsboro, he wasn’t thinking about the future — only about ensuring he had a place to sleep. Like so many other young people in our Shelter & Housing programs, Daniel knew for weeks that he might soon lose housing. “Living with my family was a constant struggle for survival,” Daniel says. “As soon as I turned 18, my mom told me, ‘You can pack up your things and leave.’”
Thankfully, with the help of a McKinney-Vento counselor at his high school, he had already made a plan to move into Safe Place the moment he lost housing. When that day finally came, he knew there was a community ready to help him.
“The staff at Safe Place aren’t just employees — they’re people who really care about your future and about you. They helped me grow into a better person.”
What Daniel wasn’t expecting was that Safe Place would feel like a safe, welcoming place. From the moment he walked through the door, he found an open and welcoming environment where teens in situations like his were laughing, playing games, and building skills for the future. “You hear about really restrictive shelters where you’re just expected to stay in your room,” Daniel says. “But when I got to Safe Place, it showed me how people my age are supposed to be treated.”
For Daniel, Safe Place provided the nurturing environment he needed to grow into the incredible young adult he was always meant to be. There, he worked closely with case managers and youth care advocates to navigate his hardships and develop healthier habits. “It’s almost like a new childhood for the people here,” Daniel explains. “The staff at Safe Place aren’t just employees — they’re people who really care about your future and about you. They helped me grow into a better person.”
Daniel is just one of many young people who have avoided homelessness and left Safe Place stronger and more prepared for the future. But his story underscores a stark reality: without Boys & Girls Aid’s Shelter & Housing programs, hundreds of young people in our community would face homelessness with nowhere to turn. Safe Place is Washington County’s only shelter for minors and transition-aged youth. Without it, teens in crisis are left to survive on their own. With it, they are seen for their strengths and supported in building a future they can believe in.
We need your help to ensure other young people in our community can continue to rely on Boys & Girls Aid’s Shelter & Housing programs — now and for years to come. As government funding for organizations like ours grows increasingly uncertain, the need for community support has never been greater. We hope you’ll consider supporting the mission of Boys & Girls Aid with a gift that continues our services for youth experiencing homelessness in Washington County.
Thank you for your continued belief in Boys & Girls Aid. Your support is what makes what we do possible.