Thank You For Helping US to Help Them

Thank you so much to everyone who made a donation for Giving Tuesday yesterday. Because of their generosity, Stepping Stones is more than 70% of the way towards purchasing a vehicle that will keep our youth on the road to success. It is a big goal and we are so much closer now because of caring, wonderful donors.

Our youth are inspired by this progress and greatly appreciative of those who made it possible. As we tell them all of the time, every little success along the way is a win, and we will continue to raise funds for this vehicle until we are ready to make a purchase. That day will be a good day, and with just a little bit more help, it will be here soon. We can't wait to tell you all about it.

The Road to Success!

Each day at Stepping Stones, homeless, unaccompanied youth show that they are eager and willing to put in the effort to succeed. They connect with resources that make them feel empowered and we make sure they know where to go. The only problem is how they will get there.

The road between the drop-in center and the resources they need can be discouraging if they do not have a reliable vehicle or a safe person to offer them a ride. But keeping them on that road to success is imperative! That’s why much of the time our staff choose to give them a lift using their personal vehicles.

But this only gets them so far. Just in the past few weeks, one staff member’s vehicle had a flat tire and another’s service light came on. These should be small personal problems for the staff, but as things are, they cause surprisingly large disruptions in programming.

The homeless young people of Stepping Stones will be able to get to where they need to go more consistently and reliably with a dedicated vehicle large enough to accommodate 5-6 youth that volunteers and staff can access as needed for on-demand transportation services.

Please consider helping the youth of Stepping Stones raise funds for a Stepping Stones vehicle that will ensure that homeless youth of Greater Nashua’s opportunities are not limited by roadblocks.

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How Road to Success Will Help

Important Rides:

So far, Stepping Stones youth rely on staff vehicles to access many essentials.:

Housing searches
Job interviews
Driving practice
Medical appointments
The food bank
Trips to the Nashua Public Library, YMCA, or Nashua Community College
Enrichment programs
Move-in days
H.E.A.L. committee meetings

More Reliable Service

With a Stepping Stones vehicle, youth can schedule a time to be picked up or dropped off in advance, and even coordinate with volunteers who want to help out after hours, including a driving instructor.

With a larger vehicle fewer youth will miss out on program events.

Youth Voice

“Without having a car, I can only get walking distance jobs, even though there are more jobs somewhere else."

"Now, we use Rebecca’s car but that is not enough. If we had a vehicle with more space, we probably could have gotten my apartment all done in one trip. ”

–Stella

Transportation is a Major Issue

From finding jobs to missing appointments, a lack of transportation creates significant barriers for homeless youth. To follow their stories in more detail, read the Roadblocks series in our blog.

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