Today, for a Different December, The Garrity Group’s Ariel White provides a different look at charity providing assistance to participants in the New Day Youth and Family Services.

In 1976, the founders of New Day discovered that homeless and runaway youth in Albuquerque had no safe home or shelter facility to turn to for help. New Day is Albuquerque’s first and only runaway house.

The objective of the program is to protect runaway and homeless youth, ranging from 11 to 17 years of age, in a residential setting with the ultimate goal of reuniting youth to their families, or locating a safe alternative. Over the years New Day has developed many new services according to requests by the community to full fill the needs of struggling at-risk youth and families.

The Garrity Group will be visiting New Day on December 13 to teach a class on work skills for the residents. The class will include how to interview, resume writing and workplace communication.

Ariel says “I think that we forget about the kids who have gotten in to trouble, and write them off. We hear so many times that someone is just “a bad kid,” and I think that is wildly incorrect. These aren’t bad kids, and being labeled as one is not a lifelong mantle that they have to bear. The work that New Day embarks on is providing these teenagers with the support that they are not getting in other areas of their lives by teaching them life skills and how to reshape their futures. What The Garrity Group can offer is insight in to the process of writing a resume, interviewing well, and working with other people so they can keep a job in the long run.”

Other ways you can is by purchasing a $50 School Survival Kit that includes: 3 ring binder, daily planner, divider, pens, #2 pencils, loose-leaf college ruled paper, college lined spirals, highlighters, graphing calculator, thumb drive.

You can also purchase a $150 Apartment Ready Kit that includes: Mac and Cheese, ramen, set of silverware, plate, bowl, laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, rags, can opener, set of cooking utensils, roll of quarters.

For more information visit http://www.ndnm.org/get-involved/intro.