2020 Change is Gonna Come

Goodbye to a place I once called home

Now to a new strangers place, to learn

Learn how to live on my own

Yet I yearned for just a stable home

I had never felt so alone

Accompanied by two new black garbage bags

With a couple rags, and old memories

Goodbye to my friends with just

These two black garbage bags and some accessories

"It'll be ok," my caseworker assured 

As I was lured into the system

Swallowed by the courts

Consumed by the placements

Goodbye to a place I once called my home.

- by AHTIYA

As some of you may know, last year we began the process of becoming trained and cleared to house transitional youth. These are young adults who have “aged out” of foster care, who are currently experiencing homelessness. This is a group that both Josh and I have felt a call to serve and partner with for a long time. It must be so scary and lonely to turn 18 and be forced to survive in a world that offers little to no support system.

I am excited to share that we have our first placement who will be moving in this Saturday! While this is a BIG change for our family of two, we are very much looking forward to this next chapter and all the beautiful, messy, fun, heart-breaking, and stretching things that we will encounter. We know we’ve got plenty of learning and growing to do.

We would of course love to talk more about this new adventure as a non-traditional family with anyone who wants to know. If you’re out there reading this and you can relate let’s connect! We also appreciate your love, patience, prayers, and encouragement for the days ahead as we adjust to our new normal.  A special thanks to our small group at Grace Chapel that has been so supportive and also provided a welcome care package for our first youth. I’m sure he will feel the love when he sees it. :-)

If you are interested in learning more about the Host Homes program through SPY (Safe Place for Youth) please check out this link.
Their mission is “to inspire, nurture and empower the resilient human spirit of homeless youth by providing immediate and lasting solutions, one young person at a time.”

Host Homes branched into our area in May of last year, partnering with Valley Oasis. However, it has been well-established in LA for several years where homelessness has reached epidemic proportions. Programs like this one focus on helping a population that is often overlooked, those that have the highest chance of gaining independence and a place of their own if they can just find some stability while they work and/or attend school.

Thanks for staying connected and reading this far, you are appreciated!


Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Josh and Joanna Parker