WAIT House connection

Well…..here we are. In less than 3 days we leave and I am skittering around the edges of panic! I’m excited about this huge adventure but it’s mixed with a large amount of WHAT THE HECK ARE WE THINKING??!!

We’re fresh off a week on the Cape with our family and that does make leaving a little easier for me plus I’ll be carrying the latest pictures of our beautiful group to show off whenever the opportunity presents! We both know how enormously fortunate we are that our children and grand-children are all secure, happy and well and this brings me to the charitable component of our cross-country trip.

During this past year I have been volunteering with WAIT House in Glens Falls which is a great organization for homeless and at-risk youth from 16-21 years old. I have come to really admire the staff and other volunteers and am so impressed by their passion and commitment to helping these kids. Our own interest in this cause comes from very personal experience as it occurred in our own middle class, suburban family with our son James during his last couple high school years. His drug and alcohol use caused him to make choices that lead him (like too many others) to leave home but having no place to go, he stayed with friends or just crashed wherever he could. He was homeless, had no direction or guidance and his downward spiral continued until finally at 21 he started the long way back to reclaiming his life. We are grateful to be able to say that today he is strong and healthy in mind and body and we are so happy to have him back as a fully participating and beloved member of our family (yea James!). And while we very much admire the strength and determination it took to do this on his own, I wonder if it would have taken him as long to find his way back to us or if his journey could have been easier if WAIT House had been available to him then. Plus, we’re very excited about the “Transitional Living Program for Homeless Pregnant and Parenting Youth” that will open in the spring of 2010 (ground-breaking will be while we are on our trip and I’ll be so sorry to miss it!). In this program, WAIT House will be able to give shelter and support services to homeless kids who have, or will soon have, kids of their own. Youth who often have not been parented themselves will be able to learn how to become successful mothers and fathers in a stable, nurturing environment and I feel like we have a real chance to offer hope for a good future to them as well as their kids. When we get back from our trek in the Fall I will be excited to see the progress on the new house and will be anxious to get back to being a part of this terrific organization.

As far as Michael and I go, we’re not looking for pledges or for anyone to “buy miles” as you would for a traditional charity ride but please, take some time to check out the WAIT House website (www.hycwaithouse.org) to get a full appreciation of what programs are offered and, if you are inspired by our trip or simply because it’s a great cause, a donation to WAIT House would be greatly appreciated.

Happy trails,
Judy