Montgomery County Youth
Services - our philanthropic
alliance
MCYS SHELTER
SERVICES
Montgomery County Youth Services (MCYS) is a not-for-profit
United Way agency incorporated in 1979 to serve the needs of runaway,
homeless and other at-risk youth. MCYS operates three distinct programs,
Youth and Family Services, Community Education and Outreach, and Shelter
Services. Shelter Services consists of the Fairway Home and the
BridgeWay Youth Shelter. All Shelter Services are located on the
Maggert Campus in Conroe, Texas.
The Fairway Home:
Fairway
is a co-ed 8 bed facility offering
an 18-month transitional living program for youth ages 16-22. Fairway
provides an alternative to the streets and the criminal justice system for
“throwaway” youth. The mission of the Fairway is to empower youth to build
on their successes in order to gain the skills necessary to make healthy
life choices. Fairway hopes to accomplish this through helping youth to set
goals, complete their education, obtain employment, save their earnings, and
eventually move on to successful independent living.
While in the home, all
residents are required to participate in an educational program. For those
attending school, we encourage part-time employment, while those working on
a GED or college program work full-time. The residents save a portion of
their earnings toward their move out and future independent living. Fairway
residents attend life skills classes for independent living skills
training. All residents have counseling services available to assist them
with the issues that brought them to Fairway and to help them learn the
skills they will need to be successful in their future. In addition to
individual counseling, all youth participate in a weekly group to discuss
both house issues and interpersonal problems. Residents also participate in
“random acts of kindness” throughout the community in order to give back to
others who are less fortunate than themselves. We encourage personal growth
and independence through fostering self-esteem, integrity and respect for
others. Admission to this program requires an application process.
There are no emergency admissions to this program.
BridgeWay Youth Shelter:
BridgeWay
is a short-term shelter program
for youth ages 10-17 who are in need of safety, security, support and
structure. Youth in the shelter can be in the custody of TDFPS, juvenile
services, or private placements from the community. The length of stay in
the shelter will vary depending on the needs of the youth. BridgeWay
operates on a core set of beliefs that include providing an environment
where the youth will feel safe and protected, treating the youth with
dignity and respect, and providing positive adult role models that enable
the youth to form close and lasting relationships with significant others
that they can trust. Youth attend public school in Willis Independent
School District. The shelter operates on a structured routine that includes
opportunities for fun, recreation, leisure, quiet time, and group
activities. Admission to this program is conducted on an emergency basis by
calling the shelter and requires no application process.
Services for youth who are not in the custody of TDFPS are aimed at
re-connecting these youth with their families. These services are provided
under the Basic Center Grant which is funded through the Federal Youth
Services Bureau. Services include crisis intervention that is available
24-hours/365 days per year to all runaway and family violence cases in
Montgomery County. Counselors meet with the family and youth to discuss the
crisis, create a plan of action to alleviate family stress and tensions, and
reunite the family. When family reunification is not immediately possible,
BridgeWay offers a short-term placement option. This placement is a maximum
of 14 days and enables the youth and their family to have a “cooling off”
period before the youth returns home. The focus during placement is to
provide intensive intervention to the youth and his/her family in order to
assist them in resolving the issues leading up to the crisis. The primary
goal is to reunify the family, strengthen family relationships and improve
communication. Admission to this program requires no application process
and is done on an emergency basis. |
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For our new members, here is a little history on how we
have helped these facilities. Over the past
several years, our chapter has donated $1,000 per year to the Fairway Home,
our charity of choice. We donated $500 last August so needed school
supplies could be purchased and then another $500 around Thanksgiving to
cover some of the home's holiday expenses. Near the end of last year, we
needed to keep the cash in our general fund; but, we didn't want to abandon
our charity. So, we conducted a "needs drive" for the Fairway Home and
BridgeWay Youth Shelter (a new emergency shelter that just started about a
year and a half ago). Many of our members participated in the drive and
the young people and administrators at these two facilities appreciated it a
lot!
Carolyn Pennell CPS/CAP, Community Involvement Chair
7/07
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