You Won’t Ever Have to Walk Alone with The Relatives
What would you do to escape from a crisis? For Seth, it meant walking for 3 days and 125 miles. He was running from an abusive home, he was alone, and he was 17 years old. Put yourself in Seth’s shoes and imagine what it would be like if you were afraid to walk into your own home. Abandoned by his mother, Seth was left at the mercy of a violent father. As the youngest and the only boy, Seth suffered the harshest mistreatment and lived in fear. Seth’s childhood was abusive and unsafe.
Put yourself in Seth’s shoes as he walks alone, over three days and 125 miles, from Fayetteville to Charlotte, escaping from his abusive father and the only home he’s ever known. Put yourself in Seth’s shoes as he sleeps in the woods and walks to the shelter every day hoping to find an available bed. When Seth walked up to The Relatives, he was homeless, working the second shift in a restaurant kitchen, lacked access to reliable transportation, and desperately needed help. Your previous support met Seth exactly where he was. He needed a hot meal, a place to shower and do laundry, and to be surrounded by the kind of compassionate care and guidance every young person deserves.
With The Relatives beside him, Seth was able to find his path forward. He enrolled in and graduated from an HVAC training program. The Relatives helped Seth find a safe, stable place to live and offered rent assistance while he was working towards his HVAC certification. Today, Seth works beside The Relatives as a volunteer and as a youth advocate. He shares his love of cooking with other young people by hosting workshops in our teaching kitchen.
He uses his expertise as a Youth Action Board member to help The Relatives best serve unhoused young adults. Seth recently said of his new apartment “a 20-minute walk to the bus stop beats the shelter any day.” This from a young man who walked 3 days from Fayetteville to Charlotte. But thanks to The Relatives he doesn’t walk alone anymore.
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