Child Abuse shelter gets a grant - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Child Abuse shelter gets a grant

November 2, 2007

Albany --   As the mercury drops, so do the spirits of many teenagers during the holiday period.
   
Depression commonly grips people during what is supposed to be a happy time of year.  It's often a time when many teenagers leave home, because of problems beyond their control.

Albany's Child Abuse shelter, Open Arms, recently received a half million dollar grant to help those runaways cope and possibly return to home life, and to hopefully prevent other teens from taking that step.

"Bring them into a better environment than what they're used to to kind of give them a little hope and redirect if there is negative behavior or negative energy into sometime positive," said Sharrod Hard, Runaway and Homeless Youth Director.

"We don't want them to have to worry about stealing to provide clothes on their back or having to prostitute in order to get their next meal because a lot of times those are the very unfortunate statistics that happen," said Open Arms Interim Director Rosalynn Fowler.

The grant money will last for three years and will council each runaway for about two weeks.  Although the goal is to return them to their families, that's not always the best option and Open Arms can help place the teen in another home.