Homeless teen with backpack

We provide support for homeless teens and foster children

Teen Team is an Assistance League of Bellingham program that supports two populations; homeless high school students who are enrolled in school, and foster children. High school students are identified by the homeless liaison coordinators in each school district. We also provide vouchers to homeless teens who are enrolled in the Whatcom Intergenerational High School which is a charter school in the county. The students are given a  voucher to shop on their own at Fred Meyer Lakeway.  Customer Service employees have been trained to allow the teens to purchase only school appropriate clothing, using ALB guidelines.

Teen Team formed a working relationship with Northwest Youth Services, an organization that serves homeless teens who are enrolled in school. When they begin to stay at NWYS, their clothing is washed and new sweats, underwear, toiletries, a backpack and a fleece throw blanket are provided. In 2024, we purchased $1800 of these items to help these young people.

We also have a relationship with Skookum Kids. Skookum Kids receives children who are removed from their homes by Child Protective Services or the police for emergency and safety reasons. They stay at Skookum Kids until a more permanent foster placement is assigned. This provides more stability to the children. These children often arrive with only the clothing they are wearing. We provide vouchers to Fred Meyer for the Skookum Kids staff or the foster parent to purchase clothing for the child.

46
homeless high school students redeemed vouchers
$150
needed to clothe one homeless teenager
$13,000
 spent on the Teen Team program in 2023-24

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