Shary's Give to the Max for The Link!

Please join me in supporting The Link for Give to the Max Day!

I’m pleased to be the receptionist at The Link, where we do whatever and whenever it takes as we have 24/7 shelter to support youth experiencing homelessness, sexual exploitation, and involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Every day, I see the impact The Link has on young people across the Twin Cities. Our programs help youth find safety, stability, and hope through three divisions:

• Housing & Homeless Services – street outreach, emergency shelter, and supportive housing for youth and young families experiencing homelessness.
• Safe Harbor – emergency shelter, housing, and services for youth at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation or trafficking.
• Youth Advocacy – positive alternatives for youth involved in the justice system and support for students facing barriers to school attendance.

Every dollar truly makes a difference:

• $25 helps provide a bus pass so a young person can get to work or a safe place to stay.

• $50 helps provide basic needs kits that Street Outreach workers distribute to youth while helping them find safety.

• $100 helps provide a night of housing and intensive support to a youth or family transitioning out of homelessness or exploitation.

• $250 helps fund a month of paid leadership opportunities for youth on The Link’s Youth Advisory Committees.

• $500 helps provide one-on-one support so a young person can stay in school and work toward graduation.

• $1,000 helps provide a housing deposit for a young parent exiting homelessness with their children.

Together, we can help ensure every young person in our community has a safe place to call home and the support they deserve.

As many of you know me from speaking at the Gala this past April, but for the ones who may not remember or have yet seen me, my name is Shary Brown former youth committee member as well as CORE program participant and now the youngest person to be in my position at The Link as the receptionist also known as the face of Glenwood.

Throughout my experiences here at The Link I can say I have grown so much. I have been able to apply so many skills, trainings and knowledge in my life by being supported and guided by the staff here at The Link. The Link is a safe space for me that isn't just a place that helped me get a place to stay but where I was able to learn what I really stand for, what is important to me, create meaningful relationships with people who I now call family, get mentored by the most inspiring people who look like me, people who help me achieve the things I want and ask what is wrong when they see me down vs saying this is not the setting for such. A place where they understand life is hard and WANT to help you with whatever it is. A place that CARES from the staff who show up n out every day, to their mission statement, to honoring ones who were apart of The Links Legacy 

I say this to say when donating to The Link you are not just supporting a Nonprofit or a single youth, but you are as well a part of this with us helping to support a safe place, a village, a family, or being as little as that someone to a young person.