"Hey, you guys hungry?"
"Dude, starvin'"
"Let's smoke a bowl and go get somethin' to eat"
A group of teen age boys make their way down an alley. One boy reaches out and punches another in the arm as he giggles and runs ahead a few paces.
"Hey,quit fuckin' around, it's right there", says the one now rubbing his upper arm.
The boys file up to the wall where there is a chain link fence separating them from racks and racks of cooling bread. The skinniest of them all takes off his frayed jean jacket. His pale skin reddens, kissed by the brisk October air. His slender arm reaches longingly through a gap between the dirty alley wall and the steel fence post. Fingers stretched, he is just able to reach one of the racks and pulls it close to the fence.
Very quickly the boys all end up with two baguettes each, one for each arm and back down the alley the trod, victoriously.
"Let's go get some peanut butter."
"... and some beer, dumbass" , and the boy receives yet another playfully hard sock on the arm.
*There was no Orion center when I was a kid*
The Orion Center is a great example of how a healthy society should operate. Open to youth ages 13 to 21, It offers a safe, open place where teens and young adults can access a multitude of services.
Free meals, showers, lockers, laundry, HIV Case Management, barista training with a certain amount of job placement and so much more.....
Direction, mentoring, hope. The youth is our future.
ttp://www.youthcare.org/orioncenter.cfm read more