In this keynote-style presentation, Brennon Graham, Executive Director of The Relatives, shares his personal connection to the organization’s mission, outlines the three‑pronged approach of providing safety, stability, and pathways to success for at‑risk youth, and presents concrete impact data. He recounts case stories—Jeremy, a youth escaping an abusive home; Kathy, rescued from a violent boyfriend; and Mary, who transitioned from sleeping in a parking deck to independent employment and housing. Graham reports that in the past year the organization supported nearly 4,000 young adults, delivered shelter and crisis services to 3,400, and helped about 600 secure housing, jobs, or education. He highlights the alarming demographics of the youth served—high rates of criminal records, low educational attainment, homelessness, and foster‑care backgrounds—and contrasts the $1,100 per‑child cost of preventative services with the $28,000 per‑inmate cost of incarceration. Graham calls for systemic change, increased staffing, more safe‑housing options, and broader community awareness, urging the audience to help “push more doors open” for vulnerable youth.
Chapters
Good morning. Good morning. My name is Brennan Graham, and for nearly 10 years I've had the honor of serving as the Executive Director of The Relatives. I've had the honor of leading a wonderful staff who opens doors every day because we believe that every child deserves a safe place to sleep and a fighting chance to make it. That message has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even when I didn't realize it. As a child, we weren't rich. My family didn't have a lot of money. We didn't have— well, I didn't have a lot of some of the extras that many of my friends had, but I did have a lot of love, and that love spilled out all over the place. There was love for our friends, love for our family, and especially love for others. I can remember my parents opened the doors to our home to several young people who really had no other place to go. Back then, I had no clue what was going on. I just knew somebody else was living with us. But now, I'm at the relatives, opening the doors myself to young people who really don't have any other place to go. After one of our past breakfast events, my father and I were talking about the work that I do, and the look in his eyes was just so proud as he said to me, It's just in your blood. Hearing him say that to me made me so proud, and now I am honored to be a part of this 40-year legacy of keeping kids safe and families together. The mission of The Relatives is achieved in 3 very simple ways: providing safety for those youth like Jeremy who lived in fear after his mother died because his father would regularly get drunk and beat him just because he looked like her. Providing stability to young people like Kathy, who was brought to us by police after being attacked by her live-in boyfriend less than a week after running away from home. Now she's safely back with her family, receiving support through our aftercare services. And providing paths to successful futures for kids like Mary, who went from sleeping in parking decks to having full-time employment, her own apartment with a dog, In just 9 months. In this past year, thanks to our Giving Society and other loyal donors, our work has supported nearly 4,000 young adults in this community, providing shelter and crisis services to 3,400 youth and families, empowering nearly 600 young adults to find safe housing, obtain necessary job skills, or work towards education goals. We've developed and continue to develop critical partnerships with other caring organizations in this community to address gaps and fill those gaps as they're identified for our kids. Because as all of us know, you really just can't do it alone. But for our community, this is only a ripple in the ocean of need. And for the relatives, this is only the beginning. We're committed to breaking these cycles of homelessness, dependency, and jail that plague the youth in our community. A commitment that will ensure that our youth will be a part of our community rather than just a problem in it. Many kids have so many cards stacked against them. Of the nearly 130 young people that we served at our crisis center last year, who were 16 to 17 years old, we're confident that only a handful of them truly had the foundation of education, support, knowledge, and preparation to survive after they turn 18. 65% of the young adults seeking help at our Armament Resource Center already had extensive criminal records. 40% had not completed farther than 9th grade. More than half were or had been homeless. Many of them sleep outside our office door every night. And amazingly, but not surprisingly, nearly 90% of them had been in foster care or one of our public systems. I dream of a day when every young person has a safe place to call home that has the love and support that everyone needs to be successful. A day when we can break that cycle of homelessness for our young people. I dream of the day when our kids who have aged out of our systems age out to college or career readiness instead of to the streets, the shelters, and jail. I dream of the day when the cost of preparing young people to be truly successful is not the primary barrier to making this a reality. For the relatives, that cost is about $1,100 per child. It's a mere drop in the bucket compared to the nearly $28,000 per inmate We spend each year. In order to make these dreams happen, we need systemic change. Much of that starts with awareness. We need folks to understand that the face of homelessness and crisis is not just an adult face. Our young people are growing up in our systems and in our community headed to jail or to live on the streets, becoming prostitutes, stealing, and getting arrested just so they can eat or have a place to sleep. We need to add more feet on the ground to actually reach out to those young people on the streets so they can know that there's support out there for them. We know that one additional staff member in our services can impact the lives of more than 100 young people through our direct services and case management. We need to identify safe housing options that support the unique needs of our young people, so whose backgrounds and lack of family support And unpreparedness keep them rotating through those cycles of homelessness and dependency. But if we don't make those changes, well, shame on us. We will have turned our backs on some of our community's most vulnerable citizens. Kids who are raised being beaten down every step of the way, kids who are raised and witnessed and lived so many things that are just so horrific that I know I'm not strong enough to even survive. Kids who have never been taught that better is possible and survival should not be the ultimate goal. Kids who have had every door closed in their faces and sometimes are really just even afraid to knock. Kids who have become adults and age out with a mountain of debt or bad credit because someone has used their Social Security number all of their lives. These kids deserve at least a little crack in the door so a glimmer of light can shine through. So I want to ask each of you in this room today to join the relatives in pushing more doors open for our young people, because together we will make sure that every young person has a safe place to sleep and a fighting chance to make it.
