Helping those who need us the most.

A Special Evening for Homeless Teens

AUBURN, ME — On a recent Monday, Brenda Theberge and her staff opened Madison Avenue Salon in Auburn, Maine, on their day off and gave free haircuts to more than a dozen homeless teens.
 
The event, organized by Volunteers of America’s Homeless Youth Intervention Program and Transitional Living Program, also treated the young people to gourmet shepherd’s pie by Maurey Fontaine, owner of Pat’s Café in Portland, Maine, and to cash and in-kind donations from the Lion’s Club of Auburn. The organizers are also grateful to the United Way of Androscoggin County and its generous supporters.
 
“It was a great event,” says Dan Sansoucy, director of the two Volunteers of America programs, with a happy smile, “and very noisy!”
 
Sansoucy explains that young people across Maine struggle every day to find shelter, food, clothing, and other basic needs. They’re often called “homeless” because it seems easier to understand. But in fact, young people are rarely seen sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street or anything else of the kind. The truth is that they’re rarely seen at all—and that the “homeless” label actually masks many of the critical issues they’re facing (often all by themselves).
 
“We can do more,” says Sansoucy, “not just by changing labels but by changing our minds and—as our friends in Auburn have just demonstrated—opening our hearts.”
 
To learn more, visit our website at www.voanne.org.

Helping those who need us the most.

A Special Evening for Homeless Teens

AUBURN, ME — On a recent Monday, Brenda Theberge and her staff opened Madison Avenue Salon in Auburn, Maine, on their day off and gave free haircuts to more than a dozen homeless teens.
 
The event, organized by Volunteers of America’s Homeless Youth Intervention Program and Transitional Living Program, also treated the young people to gourmet shepherd’s pie by Maurey Fontaine, owner of Pat’s Café in Portland, Maine, and to cash and in-kind donations from the Lion’s Club of Auburn. The organizers are also grateful to the United Way of Androscoggin County and its generous supporters.
 
“It was a great event,” says Dan Sansoucy, director of the two Volunteers of America programs, with a happy smile, “and very noisy!”
 
Sansoucy explains that young people across Maine struggle every day to find shelter, food, clothing, and other basic needs. They’re often called “homeless” because it seems easier to understand. But in fact, young people are rarely seen sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street or anything else of the kind. The truth is that they’re rarely seen at all—and that the “homeless” label actually masks many of the critical issues they’re facing (often all by themselves).
 
“We can do more,” says Sansoucy, “not just by changing labels but by changing our minds and—as our friends in Auburn have just demonstrated—opening our hearts.”
 
To learn more, visit our website at www.voanne.org.