Homeless and runaway teens. Youth in crisis. Jackson Street Youth Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, gives youth a safe place to live and resources that get them on the road to a better life. Founded to fill a gap in local support services for housing homeless youth, we serve Linn and Benton Counties and rely on donations and partnerships from throughout the Corvallis and Albany areas.
Letter from the Executive Director
Youth have special superhuman powers.
But like a super hero, those special powers can be used for good but can also be a burden. The super power I am particularly thinking is that of keen sensitivity. With this super power, a young person can sense hypocrisy faster than a speeding bullet. With their super spidey senses (pardon the mixed superpower metaphors here) they know instantly when someone is not being straightforward with them, or claiming they value something that is not reflected in the way they live.
This is one reason it is so important for the staff, board and volunteers at JSYSI to follow the same advice we give to youth. You can’t yell at someone to control their anger. You can’t nag about cleanliness if you’re a mess, and you can’t help someone set and achieve goals if you don’t know how to do that yourself. You can’t just say you care. You have to really care.
As part of our effort to continually improve our services, we had a two-day retreat where we talked about the values we want Jackson Street to stand for. The values we brainstormed had to work for the youth we serve, and for us, too. These are some of the top things we came up with.
Integrity – We believe in the power of choosing integrity…the choice to do what’s right even when no one is watching.
Advocacy – We commit to finding the truth and speaking it, in order to build trust rather than silence. We will be a voice on the side of respect and empowerment.
Diversity – We strive to be knowledgeable and open-minded in order to provide an open and non-judgmental place for all.
Empowerment – We believe in providing education and support to help you (youth, families, volunteers and staff) help yourself.
Living up to these values is a tall order. It’s important to not only believe in them but to truly live them. We are not perfect, of course, or saints, so this is about striving. About learning everyday what these things mean. We want this to be such a part of our culture that anyone new who comes through our door will be able to see the values we profess in our everyday actions and interactions.
We are committed to helping youth become the amazing adults they can be, and we are happy to be celebrating 10 years of doing just that.
Sincerely,
Ann P. Craig
Executive Director
