Housing

Clearly, providing safe housing is fundamental to addressing homelessness. We provide secure stable housing, build self-sufficiency, and satisfying lives for young mothers with their children. Helping to end the cycle that creates homeless teenage mothers is a priority for LMS.

Education

Many youth enter our programs with educational challenges, we aid in educational exploration. We educationally assess where they are and work with them to develop plans for where they’d like to be. We seek to build upon strengths and interests, encouraging them as they plan to renew their formal education or jump-start a college career or vocational-technical training. To maximize academic success, we provide tutoring assistance and assistance in applying to college or vocational school.

Employment

We help our youth to understand the importance of stable employment as a means of achieving independence. Our employment specialist and support team help prepare youth for the world of work, using employment assessments and the youth’s Individual Action Plans as guides.

To help secure jobs, our employment specialist develops relationships with employers throughout the city. Once a job is secured, we provide ongoing support so they can balance job and life demands, handle interaction with supervisors and keep their job.

Health and Nutrition

Being homeless in addition to being pregnant and or parenting is traumatic. It takes an enormous toll on body, mind, and spirit. For many of our youth, caring for nutritional and emotional needs seems like a luxury they cannot afford. We at LMS nurturing mental and physical health of our youth and their have their primary health care, mental health, and nutrition needs met; receive diagnoses for illnesses and chronic conditions; manage existing physical and mental health conditions; develop goals for nutrition, and physical and mental health management; and learn how to manage health and nutrition on their own. Youth have on-site access to substance abuse counseling.

Independent Living Skills

Our thorough, real-life training helps youth to enhance personal development skills. Skills come in all shapes, sizes, and types: money management, making a good first impression, resolving conflict, finding a job, decision- making skills, communication skills, prevention of multiple pregnancies, sustaining healthy relationships, making home repairs, living drug-free, domestic violence prevention, self-esteem building and STD’s information.

We teach these skills and provide knowledge that promotes healthy personal life outcomes necessary to live independently. Our specialists in employment, education, health, nutrition, and recreation as well as administrative staff and volunteers from the professional world teach classes in their respective fields of expertise.

In addition, we have support groups. These groups are designed to provide additional support and the opportunity for teen peers to share and validate their experiences. The groups are open dialogue and topic driven discussions, the topic discussions include stressors, self-identity, relationships, body image, success experiences as well as others.

Parenting Education

Our parenting education group is a vital part to the success of these young women. For young mothers learning how to care for their children is essential to them being able to have a healthy productive life for them and their children. At LMS we teach parenting skills by providing instruction in child development. Our staff teaches participants skills that are critical to their children’s health and development.

Recreation

Living an independent, satisfying life involves more than work, school, buying groceries or balancing a checkbook. Our recreational program not only provides opportunities for enjoying life while at Let Me Shine, but also seeks to instill a strong appetite for interests and hobbies that will last throughout a lifetime.

Wrap Around Services

Our relationships with our youth continue long after they leave our programs. We serve as a touchstone, an extended family throughout their lives. Moreover, youth who have graduated from our programs serve as role models for youth still active in LMS.