Assistance with Teenager

 

As you may know, we had an 18 year old young man come to live with us on September 11th. He showed up hungry and tired, with just the clothes on his back.

He is a good kid - with a horrible home life. He worked for us at Cheyne Ranch for 2 years during high school. He graduated last May and he is interested in going to college and pursuing some kind of public service work (fireman maybe).

We need help - he is focused on working hard, exercising and eating healthy. We are trying to support him - but bringing a young adult into our home is expensive. We estimate his grocery cost is $600+ a month, and because most of his jobs are outdoor work, he needs a lot of extra calories, durable clothing and enough shoes that he can wear a dry pair of boots or shoes to work each day.

Here are some options of how to help:

  • Donate to Cheyne Ranch - yes, this. My husband’s paycheck helps support Cheyne Ranch each month, and if the expenses at Cheyne Ranch are covered - my husband’s paycheck can be redirected to help care for this young man. The bonus is - Cheyne Ranch is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your donations may be tax deductible.

  • FOOD: Purchase Walmart or Publix gift cards for us. This young man eats a LOT of food. We are thrilled with the example he is showing our own kids with his dedication to healthy eating, but we are scrambling to keep up financially


  • CLOTHING / PERSONAL ITEMS: He walked away from his home and showed up here with nothing but the clothes on his back. He apparently had very little personal items at home, so retrieving anything from home isn’t a feasible option. Here is a link to a Walmart registry

    • He is currently 5’10”, 150 lbs

    • Shirt size: Men’s Medium

    • Jeans / shorts size: Men’s medium or 30 waist / 34 length

    • Shoe / boot size: I’ve only ever seen him wear black tennis shoes or black work boots, and he is now very interested in cowboy / western type work boots. He wears a size 9 (not wide)

      Walmart Registry: This has a few clothing and personal care items he needs.

  • WORK: Do you have work around your property he can do? He currently works for Cheyne Ranch (not paid) and for a few neighbors (paid). He is a quiet, focused worker and he is strong. The best way to have him help is to have him work alongside you (he will do much of the heavy lifting) or to write down a list and spend some time walking him through everything.

  • MENTORS: He needs a community of people. He isn’t an easy kid, it is hard to accept the help of others when he has no history of trust-worthy adults. Our family needs some help from other people to mentor him.

    • He is Catholic and interested in attending mass on the weekend. We have offered to go with him - but it might be better for him to attend with someone else.

    • He likes to work outside, he has been doing a lot of yard work.


Thank you for reading this far. We have already received very generous donations. A good friend gave us a very nice bedroom set - it is a full size loft bed and a dresser. It is so nice. the young man said he had the best sleep of his life.