How NyNy, a homeless student, inspired the founding of MAPS
Written in January 2014, with edits for clarity in December 2021
Before MAPS began, Sarai spent her time helping the homeless—focusing on helping homeless youth. MAPS is forever indebted to NyNy. NyNy was a homeless youth who not only transformed his life, but also changed Sarai’s life. NyNy is the reason MAPS was birthed.
Sarai’s Encounter with NyNy
Prior to starting MAPS, Sarai interviewed a young homeless man. He was 15 years of age in 2005, and he had been homeless since he was 12 years of age. He trekked from a state in the south to the western part of the United States with his mother. At the western state, they occasionally stayed at various motels and in a van. During this time, he missed six months of school. In the past, there were no records that indicated he was home schooled for four years. When he was in school, he was diagnosed as having a learning disability of which he was deemed to have the reading level of an elementary student. But while he was absent for four years of school, he read many books. Physically, he had a right nubbin.
NyNy experienced personal, educational, transportation, housing, and school access barriers. When he arrived from the East Coast, he was sent to a public homeless transitional school for one year and four months, until he was prepared to matriculate adequately to a mainstream, public school. During middle school and high school, he attended school irregularly, from being late to not showing up. His temporary homes—whether a car, motel, someone’s backyard, or shelters—hindered his ability to find transportation and attend school consistently. In addition, he was always hungry.
For NyNy, school was not of major concern. He often expressed his desire to drop out of school. He stated that his teachers did not like him and they perceived him to be lazy due to his sporadic attendance. When he did make it to class, he was sometimes found sleeping or resting his head on his desk because of depleted energy; intermittently, he completed his homework assignments. NyNy’s constant travels to find a place to sleep and deprived diet affected his academic performance.
“I have a couple of D’s, or F’s,” he told Sarai. His high school transcript showed he had all Cs, Ds and Fs in core courses. His constant move from place to place to sleep at night, his health, and his literacy behind behind his grade level resulted in poor school grades.
During the first year, Sarai met with NyNy. He expressed a desire to drop out of school and work as a minimum wage employee. But his desire for a better life gradually changed. Throughout our eight year mentoring relationship, he gained trust, self-esteem, and a desire to see a future.
When asked about his experience when he turned 18, he stated:
[Sarai] gave me comfort knowing that everything was going to be alright. It taught me possibilities of having a future in any area that I like, instead of a minimum wage job. It made me feel great that I could achieve whatever I wanted to achieve instead of turning to another outlet or going on the street . . . it put me on a secure path of not doing drugs or . . . detouring from my objective…With Sarai, you came in and worked with me . . . supplied food for me . . . teaching me slowly to gain my confidence and trust. It really really helped a lot. I can’t really explain it.
During one monthly phone conversation in February of 2011, Sarai asked him to remember the first moment we met and his thoughts about his school experience.
I felt empowered! Five As and one B. That was my highlight. I got excited. My grades improved…when we started a couple of weeks…I had false hopes. They would promise things and not follow through. This one guy, Zack, who would repair computers…made all these empty promises. He said he would teach me about computers…I really didn’t trust you until…food kind of helped…it was about the 5th week I knew you would stay. After the 5th week past…it made me feel that I could be a better person. If I mentor a kid, then I’m going to stick by him. I know if I’m going to promise him…then I will…definitely because one person can make an impact.
Since 2003, NyNy has experienced barriers, such as transportation, course credit transferring, disability services, basic needs, and housing. But by having a mentor be there for him, he overcame educational barriers and built confidence to advocate for himself.
Currently, he is working two jobs and is pursing an emergency medical technician position. He desires to save money and reenroll in college and major in engineering.
This young man has been in Sarai’s life for 8 years now. They still connect!