Plano nonprofit provides shelter to homeless youth, even as youth homelessness increases

Several North Texas communities are seeing an increase in youth experiencing homelessness, including Plano. While some children are homeless with their families, many homeless youth are on the streets alone.

These are the young people who Plano's Town Hall is trying to get off the streets. The nonprofit, founded in 1988, provides a home for homeless youth up to age 22 and services to equip them with the skills they need to succeed.

Several school districts in North Texas said there were a number of more students including homelessness, including Plano ISD, which identified 1,365 homeless students last school year. City House CEO Sheri Messer said the nonprofit has seen a 7 percent increase in clients. In 2023, the organization served 1,175 youth experiencing homelessness.

In the nonprofit’s youth service center, teens and young adults lounge on plastic lime-green couches. Art hangs on the walls, painted by former clients, and a bookshelf is filled with donated books and informational reading materials tailored to the center’s clients.

There is also a clothing section called YouNique Boutique. It includes everything from basics like socks, underwear and pajamas to evening dresses and interview-ready outfits.

Sapphire Beverly, a case manager for City House's transition program, said all of the clothing items in the closet are newly donated.

“We do not accept used items because we believe our customers deserve the best and new items,” Beverly said.

“They're just in survival mode”

The transition program is designed for young adults ages 18 to 21 and lasts 18 months. During the program, they learn basic life skills, such as how to keep a budget or change the oil.

Adithya Arjun said the program has made a difference in her life. The 20-year-old lived in her car for more than a month after her mother threw her out on her first day at Collin College.

“After school, I would sit in the school library, on campus or in a cafe and study to have somewhere to be and escape the heat,” Arjun said.

Arjun heard about City House from a counselor at the community college. City House also has a street outreach team that visits places where young people are seeking shelter. The team hands out snacks and bags of toiletries.

According to Messer, it can take a while to gain the trust of street children.

“They're just in survival mode,” she said.

Messer said many of them were fleeing difficult situations at home, including abuse. Others were kicked out of the house by their parents. In some cases, the mother has a new boyfriend who doesn’t get along with her children. Or a child’s parents don’t accept their sexuality or gender identity.

Regardless of why young people become homeless, living on the streets can delay their maturation and development, Messer said. They need help learning how to become adults and live independently. That’s what the transitional living program is for.

City House clients come from all over North Texas. And Messer said there are teens and young adults who are homeless and come from all walks of life.

“Children who came from wealthy families here in Plano and went to schools in Plano have been displaced from their homes,” she said.

For Arjun, living in her car was the happiest she had ever felt. It was unsustainable, but it was an escape from a toxic home environment after her parents' divorce.

“We don't have to worry”

Before she was thrown out, Arjun said she hated going home. Now, Arjun lives with other women like her at City House — people who have become her new home.

“I get to go home, and I'm happy to go home,” said Arjun.

Arjun still has nine months to remain in the transition program, but she is already making plans for her next step.

“They help us, start looking at apartments early and budgets and stuff like that, so by the time we're done, we're ready,” Arjun said. “We don't have to worry.”

According to her, this would not be possible without the help of City House.

Have a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.

Caroline Love is a Report for Americacorps member for KERA News.

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