The video presents a series of personal testimonies from young adults who experienced childhood homelessness, trauma, and instability, followed by reflections from staff and case managers of the Relatives program. Amber Grace recounts being left in a tent as a child, feeling abandoned, and battling suicidal thoughts. Darian describes a chaotic upbringing with a single mother, being expelled from home with only a suitcase, and the emotional toll of feeling unsafe. Speaker C shares the loss of a father to violence at age eleven, describing ongoing grief and the feeling of hitting rock bottom. The staff—Speaker D, Ms. Pendle, Miss Yvette, and Miss Denise—outline the program’s core promise: meeting participants where they are, providing a non‑judgmental space, allowing them to set their own goals, and offering continuous support. They highlight individualized case management, mentorship, and resources that enable participants to pursue education and employment. The outcomes are celebrated: Darian earns his GED in a graduation ceremony, Speaker C secures security work at Universal and Greyhound, and Amber, now 27, serves as a board member and volunteer, giving back to the community that helped her. The narrative emphasizes the emotional bonds formed within the program, gratitude among participants and staff, and the transformative impact of consistent, person‑centered support.
Chapters
I was doing an Uber Eats. I drop off the order. Her house was the same house that my mom left me in when I was a young child. And I just sat there and I cried. You know, why did she leave us? Living in a tent in the woods was, you know, A lot for me. I think that was like the hardest, me being homeless, is like being in the woods. It's like, you know, like you're a kid, you know, you don't— like you're a kid and like you have a responsibility of an adult to figure things out. There's nobody to help you along the way. I've been suicidal.
I spent a lot of my time as a younger kid just wishing that I was never even here. Single mother, money was always tight. I don't feel like she cared. You're telling me one thing as my parent, but all your actions are showing me, hey, listen, I'm going out to party. And I didn't feel comfortable. I didn't feel safe, and I had a hard time expressing that to my mother. I came home from work one day and all of my things were tossed outside. I had a suitcase, so shove it in your suitcase and you, you know, you take it in a garbage bag. So now I'm just a kid walking around with a suitcase and a garbage bag.
I was homeless since like 11. My mom wasn't in my life, and so it was my dad taking care of us. We was all in the hotel rooms. I was sleeping, and I woke up to the call that he got killed. And that, like, just broke us. The first year and a half, I was damn near crying every day. Seeing him get killed and get shot, laying on the ground, something that never leaves my mind. I'll probably live with that for the rest of my day, days I'm on Earth. I just felt like everything in me was gone. When you hit this point in your life, it feels like you're really at the bottom and you got nothing else. Like, it's hard not to give up.
Sometimes I'll, like, see, like, other kids and, like, their family members, you know, like, or sometimes, like, I didn't get that happy birthday wish. You know, but it's just— it was hard. Like, coming here at the relatives just— I honestly say, like, if it wasn't for the relatives, I wouldn't know where I would be. I always say that.
When Amber came in that room that day in the office to sit down and talk to me, tears was just falling. And we prayed and we cried because at the time of her prayer, she was sharing so much of her burdens and her challenges and the brick walls that she had actually ran into. We make promises to each and every young adult that enroll in our program. Our promise is Our promise is that we're going to meet you exactly where you're at. Our promise is, is that we're going to allow you to come into a nonjudgmental zone. Our promise is, is that we're going to let you lead the way. We're going to let you set your own goals, but we're going to be there to support you every minute and every moment and every step of the way.
I was really confused about a lot of things. None of my family has their high school diploma, so education was a huge factor of me showing up here.
I actually heard about Darian because they said, there's somebody we want you to start with. He's passed everything but math, and he's taken math 3 times, and he's at the point where he's almost aged out.
Ms. Pendle, great teacher. I mean, talk about strong coming through the door.
She came in and was just like, listen, I've heard your story, and I would like to help you finish this And then the case management is like, I would say, probably the best thing about Durrell, because when you got one specific person to help you, Miss Yvette is a top one human. Best, one of the best people that you can meet here.
He was very determined. When he first came to me, he basically was homeless and he was staying at the shelter, so he just needed a place to stay. He was unemployed. He needed a job. Life has just been difficult for him.
She's been actually, yeah, like my mother. What I do now, I do security for Ally at Universal. I do security at the Greyhound Monday through Friday. Well, I picked up some shifts, so it's Monday through Sunday now.
It's amazing what in their young lives they've already been through, but yet especially Especially here, if they've decided they have a goal they want to achieve, there are resources within this building to fulfill those promises.
The road has been bumpy, uphill, downhill, trials, tribulations.
Amber Grace!
Nice. Thank you.
I love you.
I love you too.
Oh my God.
I'm 27 now, so I, I've known Miss Denise since I was like 15, 16.
She is so true, guys. Some of her story aligned with my story and to why I do what I do every day, because it's hard, isn't it? It's hard, and it's hard not being And it's hard when people judge you and they don't know you. And it's hard when you're not given an opportunity to excel and exceed above and beyond when you have the gift to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it.
I'm a board member with the Relatives now. Something that a volunteer did for me, I am now that volunteer doing something for another person.
Stand up, please. Move the tassel from the right to the left, indicating your graduation and completion of your degree.
Today is my graduation celebration party. I took a nice long test. 4 of those jokers to be exact, and I'm finally graduating. I finally got my GED. Darian, when you walk out of here, you will feel stronger and better as a person than you did coming in. You will have your GED, and you will be a better man walking out. That's what the promise was.
