Homeless teens graduate high school and have big plans

Being a teenager is hard enough. Dealing with school, relationships and social media. It’s just that awkward time between being a little kid and being an adult.

Some kids in our community have to go through all of this while being homeless, wondering where they’ll sleep if they’ll eat dinner that night.

WINK News met a group of homeless teens who are graduating high school and have big plans for the future.

They spent most of their lives neglected or abandoned, going from home to home.

But on Friday, they celebrated how far they have come.

Six teenagers who live in Rob’s Cottage at Youth Haven in Naples, a group home for homeless youth ages sixteen to 21 years old, walked across the stage and obtained their diplomas, which opened so many doors they never knew were there.

They are now taking the right steps for their future.

All with different backgrounds and obstacles they had to overcome at such a young age, but none of them gave up.

Robs Cottage’s goal is to give them all the essentials they need and, most importantly, prepare them for their next job or the next place they are going to live.

Rose Nelson said she wants to be a psychologist. Her entire life is a reason why.

“I didn’t get therapy until way too late. I want to make sure other kids don’t go through that, and they get it when they need it, not late,” Nelson said.

Youth Haven has funding to make sure each child or teenager who walks through their doors has a roof over their head, and their plan for the future is to purchase an apartment building or a motel so teens can live there after they leave Youth Haven.