What is needed:
I have been working with a youth for almost a year and he has resided at our Passageways Supportive Housing Apartments the entire time. He came to us with a vehicle and we found that he spent about $15,000 on a lemon. We had it looked at by three different garages and all stated that it would not be economically feasible to fix all of the issues it had. We had it towed to a non-profit in Minneapolis that has volunteers work on cars and they stated it was also not feasible to fix it and to scrap it. This youth lost his job due to COVID and now that he doesn’t have a vehicle, he is unable to search for a new one. We are hoping that someone has a gently used vehicle they may be willing to donate. This youth is a hard worker and has been through so much with his physical health and his emotional health since he was a very young child. Working also helps keep him busy and keeps his mind off of all of his past and current struggles.
What Created the need:
This youth has a history of Domestic Violence by a past partner, Physical and Emotional Violence from his family and he has multiple health issues since birth. He was living out of his car until he came to Passageways and was trafficked and was exploited as a way to get food, clothing and other necessities. We are in the process of filing for Bankruptcy as his trafficker maxed out his credit cards, he owes $22,000 in medical bills and he still owes $9,000 for the undriveable car mentioned above. Also, the scrapping company towed his car and still has not given him the $500 they promised. His health issues include having a brain bleed, a brain tumor that was removed, shunts in his head, open heart surgery as a child, and multiple other conditions. He also suffers from severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD. He is seeing a Psychiatrist and Therapist to help with these.
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