Nicholas has been homeless his entire life. Imagine what that must be like to never have a place to call “home.” I’ll tell you more about Nicholas in a minute. But first, I want to show you how you can be a miracle for someone like him. Today, you have an amazing opportunity to help turn things around – one broken life at a time. By giving now, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar and it will go a long way to ensuring every homeless youth has a safe place to call home. Nicholas arrived in the United States at a young age. The family he hoped for never showed up to get him. The adoption agency took the only thing he had – his name, replaced it with Nicholas, and tossed him into foster care. Without a family to love and care for him, Nicholas’s basic needs for comfort, affection, and nurturing were never met. He never established the loving, caring, and stable attachments that are so important in childhood. For years, Nicholas bounced from one foster home to another, and to institutions when foster homes were unavailable or could not meet his needs. Stop after stop on this endless train, he lacked access to needed mental health services, educational support, and the love that every child deserves and needs. For years, Nicholas was a kid lost in a system that cared very little for his welfare. I know that you’ve given a lot this year. You’ve been there for families facing homelessness, for homebound seniors in need of medication and groceries, and for thousands of kids who needed free lunch this summer. Kids like Nicholas need you to be there once more. Will you be a hero for Nicholas and give today? Your donation will be doubled by a matching grant! Nicholas never used drugs or drank alcohol. As a teen, he took every job he could find – even biking through the winter snow to a job in the restaurant industry. Despite being “Kid of the Week” on the state’s adoptable foster kids website, he never found a home. Instead, Nicholas survived through odd jobs, slept behind dumpsters, or wandered 24-hour department stores when it was too cold to be outdoors. He struggled to find a place in the homeless community, and, more than once was taken advantage of for the little money he had earned and saved. Throughout Nicholas’s entire childhood, he never made a connection with an adult he could trust. After years of moving from couch to shelter to alleyway, Nicholas arrived back in Saratoga at the train station on one very cold winter night, where our Street Outreach team was stationed, offering help to youth like him. The amazing thing about these encounters is how often they become the first step to a new life for homeless youth. Over time, our team worked with Nicholas to find temporary housing, access important services for his mental health and physical well-being, and start on a path toward a better life. He was soon accepted into the nursing track at Job Corps. Nicholas was working hard and things were looking up. In a moment, everything Nicholas had worked for was taken away. COVID hit. Job Corps closed down. He lost his home, his job, his educational pathway, and, as he saw it, any chance at a bright future. That’s why Nicholas needs you now. I know you’re someone who cares for the less fortunate like Nicholas. You’re also one of those people who goes “above and beyond” to make our community a better place. That’s why I’m asking you to make one last gift this year. Please, pull out your checkbook or direct your cell phone browser to our secure online website at www.captaincares.org/donate and give generously. Remember – donating today means doubling your impact through a generous matching grant! You’ve never met Nicholas, but I can tell you that he’s one of the most enthusiastic, kind, and hard-working kids that I know. Yet his unmet mental health needs make it hard to control his emotions or form meaningful relationships with adults he can trust. He often inflates the relationships he has with peers, misreading their interest and intention, leaving him vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Like so many youth we work with, Nicholas’s story is a long one – and it’s unfinished. Building trust in someone who’s only experience with adults is one of apathy and cruelty is something we do every day of the year. Nicholas continues to need housing, food, and support, as well as direction and encouragement to overcome the barriers before him. Will you be there for Nicholas and teens like him by donating today? You can give through our secure online website at www.captaincares.org/donate. Every dollar makes an impact. No matter the amount you give today, your generosity will be giving hope and lighting the way toward a brighter future for the thousands of kids, families, and seniors that access our services every year. Because Nicholas is one of many who need help now. Every day, CAPTAIN CHS staff and volunteers are out there working to stop the trafficking of kids like Nicholas. They’re pulling together bags in the Food Pantry to ensure families have enough to eat. They’re safely connecting with seniors who’ve spent months alone at home and remain most at risk to this day. Yet more and more kids, families, and seniors are relying on the programs and services CAPTAIN CHS offers to get through these next few months – and relying on you to ensure we’re there when they need us. Your gift will allow our staff to reach out over phone, text, and video to help teens and young adults get food and housing, and access unemployment benefits, substance abuse and mental health support. It will provide groceries, funds for rent, masks, fresh meals, and transportation for youth who need them – and the families and seniors in our community hit hardest by this pandemic. And your gift will do so much more than that. Please give today by returning the enclosed form, or visiting our secure online donation page at www.captaincares.org/donate. When our team asked Nicholas what he hoped for the future, he shrugged. He described his past as “a life of chaos” and had very little hope anything would change. Nothing has ever been his: he’s had no home, and even his name was taken from him. The only wish Nicholas had was to be thought of as honest and trustworthy. He hoped to be seen in a world where he was invisible. If I can ask one thing of you today, it’s to show your support. No matter how big or small – so teens like Nicholas, who’s shown resilience and bravery in a world that’s constantly beaten him down, can have something to look forward to. You can give him somewhere to call home. Pick up a pen, or unlock your phone, and donate now on our secure website at www.captaincares.org/donate. Will you be a hero once more and let Nicholas know he’s not alone? Thank you, thank you – a million times thank you, Sue Catroppa P.S. Nicholas can’t wait, and neither can you. Please send in your contribution today with a credit card or check made payable to CAPTAIN CHS to 543 Saratoga Road, Glenville, NY 12302, or visit our secure online donation page at www.captaincares.org/donate! P.P.S. Remember! Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar through December 31st.
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