Imagine losing not one, but both of your parents as a teen in high school. The world turns upside down and you have to grow up quickly. Suddenly having a place to stay, transportation, and expenses like rent, utilities, food, clothing and other necessities can become huge and overwhelming issues.
This happened recently to one of our clients – his mother passed away from an illness a year ago and his father was a victim of COVID-19. Though this young man has older siblings, they are not in a position to take on his care.
This is where Masonic Outreach Services has stepped in to help, and where our On the Level Student Success program has helped. We are working with the family to find ways to assure that this young man has the support and resources he needs to make it through, while still attending school and playing for the football team. Our goal is to help him stay in school so he can make his way toward graduation and receive that diploma, which is so vital to his future.
On the Level Student Success is a program specifically geared toward helping unaccompanied youth (orphans) who are attending school receive the support and assistance they need to stay in school and attain their high school diploma or GED. In Washington there are estimated to be more than 13,000 of these young people – who are in every community across the state.
