Gateway’s Involvement
The youth in Cheyenne will soon be our future, but for some of our youth the future seems to be a little more difficult. Some of Cheyenne’s youth are left homeless as they are not in physical custody of a parent or guardian. Many times they find themselves in unsafe situations such as living in cars or even at parks. Without a stable roof over their heads, it makes succeeding difficult.
As of January 2018, Gateway is happy to be involved in constructing a new twin-home that will house homeless teenagers in Laramie County. The twin-home will be built on Fox Farm Road and will house youth ages 16-20. Each home will house 5 students and house parent.
Each home has a great room layout on the main floor with fireplace, house parent bedroom with adjoining bath, laundry and powder room. The upper floor has 2 student bedrooms, shared bath and a study room. The lower level has 3 student bedrooms, a shared bath, student storage room, and family room. Each side of the twin-home is 2954 sq. ft. with the total building area of 5908 sq. ft.
About the Unaccompanied Student Initiative Program
The program is set around helping unaccompanied homeless students, which are youth experiencing homelessness while not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. The objective of this program is to provide safe and stable housing for unaccompanied students by building a continuum of care, and to get all students to graduate high school with their peers.
This program will help benefit the community in many ways. It provides a safe and stable home setting for unaccompanied students by getting them off the street. It provides resources to help the students resolve issues and stay in school. The program promotes high school graduation and improved wage earning abilities. It also helps make students productive members of the community.
The vision is to develop two homes per school triad: East, South and Central. House rules will apply, including prohibition of drugs and alcohol.
Since starting the housing continuum in 2015, Strong Families Action Team has provided shelter to 16 youth, using both the pilot residence and support to youth in host homes. Fifteen of these youth have graduated or will graduate this May from high school. This is an increase of over 40% in the graduation rate of Unaccompanied Students.
“We were very blessed with a wonderful home and supportive parents. You can’t not get involved if you have had that kind of blessing.” –Alane West, Strong Action Team
Over the years, Gateway has supported Cheyenne through the sponsoring of youth sports, the Boys & Girls Club, Family Promise of Cheyenne and the Friends of the Atlas, among others.
“At Gateway we believe it is important to provide positive growth and to support the communities we work and live in.” Jason Stephen – Gateway Construction