The video features two speakers, Dustin Young and the mother of his brother Justin, recounting their family's experience after moving to Charlotte for a cooking school. Their arrival quickly turned into a crisis: a cab mistake left them without a hotel room, money ran out, and they were directed to a homeless shelter. Dustin, deemed too old for the shelter, was sent to the "Relatives" program, where after a confusing night he was given a bed, food, and support. Over two months the program helped him with school, clothing, tutoring, and job searching. After aging out, he endured a harsh men’s shelter, likened to jail, before eventually securing housing with his brother’s help. Throughout, the Relatives and OnRamp organizations provided meals, showers, and assistance. Justin’s mother describes the family’s separation into two shelters, her fear and embarrassment, and the reassurance from Relatives that her son was safe. She also details how her other children, especially her daughter Trinay, benefited from OnRamp—earning a GED, preparing for the ASVAB, and joining the military. Both speakers express deep gratitude toward Relatives and OnRamp for stabilizing their lives and enabling future success.
Chapters
Hold up, hold up.
Yeah.
Good morning.
Good morning.
My name is Dustin Young. Okay. Okay. Well, this is my story. When I was like 17 years old, my mother put us on a train to come up here to Charlotte because she had got accepted into a cooking school. So we came up here, you know, thought we were prepared, and we got off the train, got on a cab, and went to go to our hotel room. We had the wrong— the cab driver took us to the wrong hotel room, and we didn't know where our hotel room was. So we ended up staying at the hotel room we were at, and our money got lost. So we had to stay at that hotel room for about 2 weeks, and we couldn't pay for it anymore. So the front— the lady at the front desk told us about—
The shelter. Okay.
The lady at the front desk told us about the homeless shelter, so we packed up and moved to the homeless shelter. When we got there, I was informed that I could not stay there because I was too old, so they sent me to the relatives. They gave me a ticket, put me on a bus, and sent me to the relatives. Unfortunately, I'm directionally challenged, so, you know, I got lost, and I was lost till about like 12, 1 o'clock, till I finally called the police, and they took me to the relatives. And when I got there, it was like 1:30 in the morning. They checked me in. They asked me if I was hungry, and they gave me a bed. I went to sleep. And when I woke up the next morning, you know, I went downstairs, and I just kind of— it kind of just fell into place after that. I interacted. I got to do a whole bunch of things. I didn't have to worry about whether, you know, I was going to— where I was going to sleep at, whether my mother was okay. And I said to the relatives, 2 months. 2 months. Stayed at the Rector's 2 months. During that time, they helped me with everything I needed help with, whether it was school, getting clothes, doing work, getting a tutor, and all that. After that, I aged out, had a birthday party, I aged out. I stayed in a hotel room for the night because once again, it was either a chance of going to the men's shelter or finding somewhere to stay, so I decided, you know, You know, we called my brother and he came and got me. And I stayed with him for a month or two. But I had to come back so we could sign the lease for the house. So when I came back, I went to the men's shelter, or jail, you know, I prefer jail. But yeah, it was like jail, seriously. But I went to the men's shelter and it was— It was not fit to be lived in. At all. It was like living with a whole bunch of animals, basically. It was horrible. The bathrooms were dirty. The men, they did not care. And you took a shower in an open place with like 6 other people. It was not something you want to go through, not something you want to experience. Not something I would wish on anybody. I don't care how much I don't like you. It's not something you should do. But I did it. I went in there every day, focused, schoolwork, found my little corner in there and, you know, do my thing. Didn't pay no attention to nobody. Met a couple friends, met a couple older guys that talked to me, you know, helped me get through it. And I did it. I had to. There was no other choice. 'Cause I went, I was 18, I'm not gonna cry to my mama about it. I'm just go do it and get it over with. So I did it. But during the whole thing, I was going to OnRamp looking for a job. I was going to the relatives. They would let me come over there, you know, eat, take a shower, rest, whatever I needed to do. They helped me through the whole thing. And sooner or later we got a house. You know, we made it. We made it. We did the thing. We made it. And And, you know, it was over with. It was done. So, you know, even now, even though I'm done and out of there, they still help me. They still call and check on me. I know if I need somebody to talk to, I can call and talk to them. So, you know, I'm happy they're here. I would not have made it without them. So I thank them a lot because they helped me a lot in my life. And now I got a month or two before I graduate from school and go off to the armed services. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. I heard it.
Thank you. Good morning. I am Justin's mother, and I'm here because the relatives not only helped my son, they helped my family. Justin tells the story, and he tells it pretty correctly. We came to Charlotte to change our lives, to do something better. I wanted my children to have a better outlook on life. I didn't want them involved in the criminal justice system, which it was kind of looking like they may be if we didn't change something quickly. And we made plans to come to Charlotte, but like all Best laid plans didn't work out. When we got here, things kind of got confused and mixed up, and we ran out of money before we thought we would. And I went to pay for our hotel room one day, and I was by that time paying day by day. We'd been there about a month. And the lady said, why don't you guys go to the shelter? And I'm thinking, what? The shelter? Really? I've never been homeless, never had to go to the shelter. I've never known anybody that was. Homeless or lived in a shelter. Well, I thought about it. I prayed about it. I stayed up all night and prayed about it. And I think the next day I called the shelter and talked to them. And I called the relatives and I talked to them. And they told me that my teenagers could come to the relatives and I could, of course, take the small ones. We came here 4 people: me, 2 teens, 18 and 17, And 2 small kids, 9 and 4. So half of us could go to one shelter and the other half could go to another shelter. And we'd never been separated. We were really close. We always lived together in one house, and they said that we would have to separate and go to 2 different shelters. So I talked to the 2 oldest ones. Of course, I cried and I cried and I cried. And they said, hey, whatever we have to do, that's what we do. We're gonna make it, don't worry. God is good and we're gonna make it. So we went to the shelter. We got on the bus with our last little money and we went to the Salvation Army shelter. And when we got there, they said that my oldest daughter, who was 18 at the time, could stay there because she was too old to stay at the relative's. But Justin would have to go to the relative's alone. And we cried some more.
Aww.
And he got on the bus to leave at about 7, and he got there at 2 o'clock in the morning. And I worried, because we were in a new city, and we didn't know anybody, and I had no clue where he was or who to call to find him. But the people, the relatives assured me that he would get there, and as soon as he got there, they would let me know. And he made it. And I went to the relative the next day to sign him in. And by now, I am embarrassed. Because I'm homeless and I have to send my son somewhere alone and I'm wondering what these people are going to think of me. What kind of parent am I? And I got there and they were so nice to me. They made me feel like a person when I was feeling like a non-person. They assured me that they were going to take care of my son for me. Not to worry. He would be fine. Justin stayed at the relative about 4 months. He'd stay 14 days and he would stay with us overnight and he would go back. In those 4 months, I looked for a job and I worked, got up every morning, went looking for a job. My kids were in school and we did what we had to do. We prayed until things got better. But I never had to worry about him. I knew every day that he was safe. And he was taken care of and somebody cared about him. They cared about him like I cared about him. And not just Justin, I have a daughter, 18, Trinay, and she was a little rough around the edges. That's making it— saying it— taking it lightly. And— but she started going to OnRamp. We just happened to go there one day with the girl on the video, Miranda. And she said, maybe you should go here. And she went to OnRamp. And she started going to OnRamp every day like it was a job. She'd get up in the morning, she'd get dressed, and she'd go to OnRamp. And she'd look for a job all day. Or she'd go to a workshop. Or she'd work on a resume or do interview skills. She got kicked out of school at 14. She'd gone to Job Corps and quit. She'd quit everything. She never started. She went to OnRamp every day and she got her GED. She completed something. She went to OnRamp every day and studied for the ASVAB and she joined the military. And she graduates basic training in 10 days. So—
Thank you.
So we came here in February and we were in a situation and we met these people who changed our lives. In September, we got our own place and our life is pretty much back to normal. Everybody's working. I'm working and school. Justin graduates in 8 weeks and he goes to the military. My oldest child is graduating in 10 days. My 2 younger ones are in school and they're happy. We're stable. The relatives did that for us. These people have been a godsend to us. They have been a blessing beyond anything I could ever ask for. They are the best group of people. They care about not just Your children. They cared about my family. They called me, asked me about jobs. They talked to their friends about job openings. They helped me find a place. They put me in touch with the housing authority. They called and asked if we need anything. And this happens still today. They call and they say, how are you doing? Is everything going okay? Is there anything I can do for you? I've had OnRamp people from OnRamp help me put groceries in my new refrigerator, take me to the grocery store, bring me blankets. You know, somebody bought us a TV and they won't tell us who, but we thank them for it. But if it wasn't for them, I don't think we would have made it. I think we probably would have given up. And we would have gone back home and we would have— I would have worried about my children. But because of them, we made it. And we made it not barely, we put it in there. We went over the top. And it's because of people like Tabitha and Courtney and James who never give up on you. Never. Even when I had like, okay, that's it, I'm done. They were still like, no, no, there's something we could do. There's something else we could do. There's something else we could try. They never stopped. They never stopped. Sometimes I was like, that's enough. And they were like, no, there is something. There is somewhere. There is somebody that can help you. And it's because of them that we made it. And I would just like to say thank you so much. You guys are the greatest.
