Updates from Looking Glass
After constructing a first tiny house for SquareOne in the summer/fall of 2023, the students enrolled in the Skilled Trades program at Looking Glass Riverfront School & Career Center were eager to work on a 2nd project. SquareOne was thrilled with the quality craftsmanship done on the first project and have expressed interest in a longer term partnership. The students did not disappoint with their 2nd effort, completing their next tiny house project in early September of 2024.
The Looking Glass Counseling Program continues to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of our clients. We continue to hire more therapists and although we are not quite fully staffed still, we have made great progress in recent months and are doing our best to meet the growing need for therapy in our community, for clients of all ages. Here is a new video about the counseling program, highlighting the various ways our program meets our clients where they are, providing trauma-informed care from a diverse group of caring professionals.
The Trafficking Prevention Specialist and Survivor Advocate plays a crucial role in providing trafficked youth with a safe space and assistance with extricating themselves from a dangerous situation. For the safety of the employee in this unique role, we are not identifying her by name. For the importance of the education of this community, we are sharing some of her experiences.
Trafficking of youth comes in many forms, but most often comes down to a vulnerable young person trading favors or services in exchange for housing, food, or other basis needs. Or, in some cases these services are traded for drugs or alcohol, which, in turn help these victims endure the assault or abuse at the hands of those holding power over them.
Students enrolled in the Looking Glass Riverfront School Skilled Trades Program recently completed construction of a Tiny House on behalf of SquareOne Villages. The house is now part of SquareOne’s Opportunity Village. SquareOne provided the materials through donations and grants and students in Riverfront’s Skilled Trades Program constructed the house in just a little over four months. Multiple local media outlets gathered for an unveiling of the tiny house on November 15th.
Looking Glass Community Services has opened a new, low-barrier homeless youth shelter called the PEER Shelter (PEER stands for Persevere, Enlighten, Empower, Renew). The 24-hour accessible low-barrier shelter is for youth ages 16 – 24 years old who are unhoused or otherwise in crisis. The shelter provides youth at risk of being victimized on the streets, a safe, supervised living environment, medical care, basic needs, case management, and substance abuse and mental health treatment access to assist them in moving towards stabilization.
Finding affordable, safe, quality housing is a challenge for a lot of people in Eugene and broader Lane County, but especially so for youth with limited rental history and sometimes criminal history. So it is particularly special to Looking Glass when a local community member agrees to long-term rental partnerships. Austin Folnagy is the most recent example of a willing and supportive landlord who enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to rent an entire complex to Looking Glass youth.
“It’s a way to give back, for sure,” Folnagy explained. “It’s a business, for sure, but by working with Looking Glass in this way, it’s a way to do good in our community too.”
Riverfront School & Career Center’s Skilled Trades Program has begun working on building an entire tiny home that will eventually be placed on a site owned and operated by Square One Villages, another Eugene nonprofit that Looking Glass is collaborating with.
The tiny home construction is a summer project for students/workers enrolled in the program who will receive paid work experience while they learn valuable skills.
Riverfront School & Career Center is seeking youth to sign up for summer paid work experiences through either our Lane Metro Youth Corps or Skilled Trades Programs. The Corps work is for youth ages 14 to 21 and the Skilled Trades Program is for 18 to 24 year old’s. Both offer 32 hour per week opportunities and great skill building!
Thanks in part to a capacity building grant awarded from Lane County (via HUD) in 2022, Looking Glass New Roads homeless youth program has expanded both its outreach team and operating hours for the drop-in center located on 7th Avenue in Eugene. The outreach team doubled in size from a staff of 4 to staff of 8 and New Roads went from providing services Monday-Friday 8:30 to 5 to now offering 7-day-a-week services from 8:30AM to 8:30PM.
Vinnie Cowan, who has owned and operated Vinnie’s Smokin’ BBQ along with his wife Debbie since roughly 2015, has entered into an informal partnership with Looking Glass Riverfront School & Career Center in which the students will work in his food truck, parked at Riverfront every Thursday offering lunch from 11AM to 2PM, and receive paychecks from Looking Glass via a workforce readiness grant program.
“We always try and give back to our community and felt that this was a great way to offer the kids some work experience,” Vinnie explained. “And the youth workers have been great! I’m actually hoping to hire a couple of them this summer when they’re out of school.”
The Riverfront Job Training Program is looking for youth age 16 to 24. High school graduates are welcome.
Paid work experience is provided as is assistance with GED if needed, support services (ID, bus passes, work clothing), career exploration, assistance applying for FAFSA and college applications.
