Who knew, when I started working at New Horizons Ministries in 1987, that I would be communicating to each of you through a Web site? I'm excited about the opportunity to share with each of you our dreams and visions for serving street youth.

Two years ago, the staff at New Horizons had the opportunity to go to Chicago to visit ministries that serve the poor and the homeless. Our desire was to see what other ministries were doing and to listen to God's direction regarding the next steps for New Horizons. The trip was inspiring and thought-provoking. When we returned home to brainstorm about what was next, the result was 20 pages of ideas and dreams!

For the next year, we explored options related to our ideas and continued to seek out God's clear leading. At the end of that time, our paid staff members, our volunteers, and our Board of Directors all came together to vote on which ideas should be our priorities. We also sought input from the youth we serve to learn which programs they felt would best suit their needs. The results were clear.

We have spent the past six months raising funds for the following three new programs and planning for their implementation:

Life Discovery Program
The purpose of the program is to help youth discover their life potential through opportunities that foster their interests and develop life skills. To Date we have been able to offer art activities, a writing group, and classes in cooking, computers, typing, and finances. Each class has had a built-in incentive for the youth to participate in and complete the class. We are continually exploring other ideas as we partner with community members and professionals who are willing to volunteer their time to serve and teach the street youth. All class offerings are determined by what the youth find exciting, as well as potentially skill-building. It is our hope to have a seasonal calendar that will include ongoing classes as well as short-term courses.

Job Mentorships, On-site
We offer on-site training in four areas using our existing staff. For the purpose of the Job Mentorship program, we have redefined these staff positions to create time for mentoring youth in the following areas:

	Office Skills - mentored by Darlene Klingebiel, our Agency Administrator, and Susie Steinke, our Development Events Coordinator.
	Food Services - mentored by Abra Greene, our Social Services Coordinator.
	Computer Training - mentored by Bob Benoit, our Information Technology Coordinator.
	Maintenance and Repair - mentored by Calvin Cooper, our Facilities Manager.

These mentorships last for up to three months, eight hours each week, and the youth receive a stipend. After completing an on-site mentorship, the youth have the opportunity to move to our off-site mentorship program.

Job Mentorships, Off-site
Off-site mentorships will be full-time, one year positions. An individual or business will make a commitment to train and pay one of our youth for a full year. The mentoring individual or business will stand beside the youth who are not entirely ready for the workforce, mentoring them in both job skills and office demeanor, or life skills. A Counselor Case Manager from our staff will support the youth and the off-site job mentor. As we explore options, we hope to have three of these mentorships ready to implement in the spring of 2003.

Apartment Living
Working with individuals who own apartment buildings, we plan to provide low-cost housing opportunities for the youth who are participating in our off-site job mentorship program. Our long-term goal is to partner with an apartment owner who will allow his or her entire apartment building to be used by the youths that New Horizons serves, in combination with families in local churches and intentional community members who are working at New Horizons. The goal is to build a strong, supportive community in which the youth can become confident in living life away from the streets.

We are excited about the opportunities these programs bring to the youth we serve. I will keep you posted about the successes and challenges these new programs bring.

In God’s grace,

Rita Nussli
Executive Director

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