TreeHouse

I feel so incredibly honored and blessed to have gotten a job working for such an amazing and life changing organization! As of June 2, I am now a Youth Outreach Specialist for a faith based non profit organization called TreeHouse. They minister to at risk youth in the Twin Cities metro area. Their mission is to give hope to hurting youth and families leading to life transformation. They have been around for 25 years, serve over 1300 youth and 100 families per year, and have 7 locations in the Metro area. My job is to come alongside these teens (ages 11-18) and become a mentor to them. I will have one on ones with them, where we will just hang out, and talk about life. I will also be involved with a lot of the different programs that they have for the teens. They have a night called Going Deeper, where it is sort of like a youth group. The teens get together, there are games, and then there is a message about something relevant that they are going through (issues with self image, what true love is,etc). They also have a support group night where the teens are broken up into small groups, and they talk about their emotions. It is a place for them to talk about whats going on in their lives in a safe setting. They also have the opportunity to go on different retreats and trips, whether it be to the Boundary Waters, a Minnesota Twins game, or a concert. Its great for them to get away from their normal routine and see that there is so much more to life than what is presented to them on a daily basis.

TreeHouse belives that behind every hurting teen, there is a hurting parent. They provide education, support groups, work shops, and one on ones for the parents of the teens they work with. TreeHouse emphasizes getting to know the parents, because the best way to heal the teens is to heal the relationship between the parent and teen. They serve as a mediator between the two.

Just so that you can get the picture of what some of these teens deal with, here a few stories!

Jimmy had been coming to TreeHouse for a few years, didn't really participate much, and was very apathetic about the whole thing. He stopped coming and didn't appear back to TreeHouse until a year later. He went on one of the retreats that TreeHouse offered, and it was there that he poured out his heart. He told the staff that he had been living on his friends couches, and sometimes on the streets, and was also addicted to different drugs. Why you might ask? One day he came home from school only to find that his whole house was empty. His family had moved away and didn't tell him where they went. Jimmy obviously was dealing with abandoment issues, self worth issues, and so much more. Thankfully though because of TreeHouse he has turned his life around. He is now a Christian, and knows that he is loveable, capable, and worthwhile, that he is not alone, and is loved without strings. Those are all things that TreeHouse preaches to these teens. Because most of them don't believe they can and/or should be loved or are worthy anything.

Noel is a highschooler and works at McDonalds. One day her mom came into McDonalds and had absolutely no clue that she worked there. When she saw her daughter, she yelled out into the crowd, "I can't believe you hired this f****** whore!" She then walked out. Later that night, when she got home, her dad told Noel that she was a mistake, and that she shouldn't have been born. TreeHouse is her home, its where she gets love, support, and a place where she can come to when her home life is in shambles.

I am totally pumped to start getting to know some of these youth. It is going to be such an eye opening opportunity!

Here is a great video that explains more about TreeHouse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlVwIw7exvs

If you want to support TreeHouse, please feel free to contact me at wenjgray@gmail.com, or by phone at 503-327-4990.

I will for sure update you on all that is happening there, and how you can help support me/them!!