Troubled Teens Resources

The world if full of wonderful and charitable people who would give in a heartbeat. Charity isn’t always monetary. It can be giving of ourselves. For example we could give of our time to tutor troubled teens who need extra help in school, so they don’t get frustrated and drop out. Education is often the best charity.

Four years ago Shelly (age 15) found herself pregnant and in an emotionally abusive relationship with her 18 year old boyfriend.  To make matters worse, she was kicked out of her home when her family found out about the pregnancy. To avoid public humiliation, she also dropped out of school once she could no longer hide it.  No one in the school knew what happened to her, so they didn’t know to even offer help or educate her about her options. Little did she realize at the time, the local area had a school specifically for teenage parents. She didn’t know what to ask or who to ask about her options, as it had never come up with anyone she knew. She eventually had the baby and her boyfriend took off (a good thing as it turns out). She was temporarily able to keep a roof over their head via handouts from people but unfortunately she became very unmotivated and increasingly depressed. Eventually the handouts ended and she soon discovered getting a decent paying job was impossible with not even a high school diploma or any experience.

A stranger heard about her situation and immediately knew he wanted to help. He knew a free handout would only make the problem worse.  Education was the answer in Shelly’s case. This Good Samaritan gave her the information and resources available that she needed to make a step forward. He didn’t do it for her however. Once the information was in her hands it was up to her to make the phone calls and she did. She was willing to put in the effort, she just needed to be pointed in the right direction.