Eugene weekly., September 14, 2017, Page 8, Image 8

BY M O R G A N T H E O P H I L
HOMELESS YOUTH
ON THE RAN
providers for the cases that don’t get met as immediately,”
Shultz says. “They get the alert directly from me, and these
people — just citizens of Eugene — step in and make it
happen.”
The hope, Shultz says, is that the immediate responses
create a way to intervene, providing youth the resources
they need before they head to the streets, which has been
“otherwise seemingly impossible without this.”
The RAN debuted in September of last year, and within
the first few weeks a school counselor recognized Long-
sworth’s situation and sent out an alert for a youth advo-
cate. This is the most common request; according to data
collected by 15th Night, advocates have been requested
more than 20 times.
“Someone to just stand alongside these youth and help
in a variety of ways is something so many of our youth
need,” Shultz says. “Along with all of the other resources,
“I know that even in the worst-case scenario, people
have used the RAN to get kids sleeping bags in the chance
they do have to spend a night on the street,” Longsworth
says. “Which, believe me, is better than nothing.”
To accommodate the frequent requests for shelter, 15th
Night has partnered with A Family for Every Child and is
Local technology helps intervene with
actively recruiting “host homes” — families in the com-
munity who are willing to take in homeless youth on short
homeless youth
notice, allowing them a safe place to stay while their other
needs are sorted out.
hen Miya Longsworth ran away from a dan-
“We have a network of people in the community who
gerous foster situation in California at only
can take a youth in to provide that safety and security,
16 years old, she ended up on the streets of
which also helps create the spaces to get them services
Eugene. She did her best to manage high
while being in a safe space,” Shultz says. “It’s a value to us
school while couch surfing, but spent her
as a community to be adapting to be meeting these diverse
junior year burdened by homelessness.
needs, all thanks to this technology.”
At that same time, September of 2015, Eugene City
At the RAN’s one-year anniversary, 15th Night’s devel-
Manager Jon Ruiz was working with community mem-
opers say they are using the technology to “be in-
bers to rethink how the city was handling the issue
novative, think outside the box, and figure out how
of youth homelessness. “We decided to focus on
to get anyone and everyone from the community
generating a movement and a new expectation for
involved.”
our community,” Ruiz says, “rather than just cre-
In early June, they created business cards with a
ating another organization on the landscape of the
24/7 hotline for kids to attain 15th Night’s resourc-
problem.”
es without needing to go through a liaison. Youth
To generate a movement, a group of individuals
can text or call the number to reach a representative
from various organizations and backgrounds came
from White Bird, one of 15th Night’s partners, who
together to form 15th Night, named with the hope
will then send out an immediate alert, after which
that no youth will spend more than 14 consecutive
the requests are fulfilled in the same fashion.
nights on the street. That is the point they’re more
Longsworth, now a member of 15th Night’s
likely to become chronically homeless, according
Youth Advisory Council, has passed out cards
to Looking Glass Community Services.
herself. “We don’t want to let anyone slip through
15th Night developers then presented the is-
without getting the help that the RAN provides,”
sue of youth homelessness as a “challenge” at
she says. “I want every kid who needs help to take
the February 2016 Technology Association of Or-
— EUGENE CITY MANAGER JON RUIZ
advantage of this.”
egon’s Hack for a Cause. Multiple teams spent the
Currently, 15th Night is dividing up Eugene into
weekend generating ways that technology could
different “catchment areas” that can use the RAN
be used to combat the issue, and two University of
on an even more localized scale.
Oregon students created the “Rapid Access Net-
The catchment areas, located around Eugene’s
work,” known now as the RAN.
schools, will have “all of the access and resources
“The basic premise of the event is to show that
needed in one place, to help each area to take care
technology can be part of the solution to some of
of their own kids,” Shultz says. South Eugene High
the challenges that our community is facing,” Matt
School will act as the pilot for this year, and the
Sayre of TAO and Hack for a Cause says. “It is evi-
hope is to create a “catchment toolkit” to give to
dent that when technology is present and people in
other schools next fall.
the tech community come together, amazing things
“If we continue to perfect this technology to
can happen — and the RAN is a great example.”
have all of these resources and services centered
By way of the RAN, 15th Night encompasses
around every school in Eugene, these small move-
a “collective impact model,” utilizing resource and
ments will then equal a big movement,” Ruiz says.
service providers that already exist in Eugene to
15th Night plans to eventually perfect the tech-
streamline the process of getting help for homeless
nology enough to share it beyond Eugene, allowing
youth.
other cities to equip their youth with immediate re-
The RAN process begins when an “advocate”
sources and services.
— trained representatives including school coun-
Longsworth is now in stable housing, working
selors, nurses, public librarians, city of Eugene staff
and
teaching herself the art of animation — her plan
— sees a child who has a need. They log onto the
CARD HANDED OUT TO YOUTH IN NEED OF SERVICES
is to create cartoons that will not only help children
RAN, type in the child’s gender and age, select the
understand whether they’re living in unsafe situa-
need from a simple drop-down menu and then sub-
tions, but also include “subliminal help messages
mit to send an “alert.”
and resources within them, helping kids find a way out.”
The alert is immediately sent, via text message and
the RAN can help get them that.”
“We have this technology that no one else uses, and it’s
email, to each provider who has declared him or herself
Longsworth was connected to Jade Chamness, a youth
allowing us to tackle youth homelessness differently,” Ruiz
able to meet it. If the need is for clothing, for example, all
advocate with Direction Services. Chamness worked with
says. “We are willing to use and adapt the RAN based on
providers who have clothing to give are notified, and one
Longsworth to find more stable housing with Looking
what’s going to work, and that’s what is different than the
Glass’s Station 7, and later sent RAN alerts to help her
will bring that clothing over immediately.
way we looked at this problem before — and it’s key.”
receive everything from a bike for transportation to food,
“The technology makes it all happen immediately, in
clothing and shelter again later on.
real time,” 15th Night coordinator Megan Shultz says.
For immediate help, resources and services, call or text 541-246-4046 to reach
a 15th Night representative 24/7. To get involved or find out more information
“I thought 15th Night would be another program or
In the rare case that an alert isn’t closed within 24 hours,
about 15th Night, visit 15night.org. Additional reporting by Addison Prentice,
group that didn’t really do anything,” Longsworth says.
Shultz steps in herself, using the network to send the alert
Victoria Robitaille and Megan Rouse.
“But how the RAN works makes it different.”
again, this time to the “second parachute” of providers —
This story was developed as part of the Catalyst Journalism Project at the Uni-
According to the data, shelter and clothing were also
other people within the community who have volunteered
versity of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. Catalyst brings
frequently requested: At least 19 kids requested clothing
to help.
together investigative reporting and solutions journalism to spark action and
response to Oregon’s most perplexing issues. To learn more visit journalism.
and shoes and 16 kids requested shelter in the RAN’s first
“People in our community come to us wanting to help,
uoregon.edu/catalyst or follow the project on Twitter @UO_catalyst.
year.
so we’ve been able to create this second tier of resource
W
‘We have this technology
that no one else uses, and it’s
allowing us to tackle youth
homelessness differently.’
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September 14, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com