Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mari Amend and I am the Development Manager at At The Crossroads. In honor of our 20th anniversary, I’ve created a special digital edition of our spring newsletter and I wanted to share it with you.
Twenty years ago, Rob and Taj founded At The Crossroads with the belief that there was a better way to meet the needs of the most disconnected youth on the streets of San Francisco. They wanted to connect with youth where they were at, reduce the barriers to entry for services, and cultivate long-term, trusting relationships that would serve as a strong foundation on which youth could build the lives they wanted.
After two decades, the core of our work hasn’t changed. We continue to provide in-depth, unconditional support to youth on the streets and help them identify and achieve their goals. Our clients are at the center of everything we do and over the years we’ve made sure to adapt in order to make our services as accessible as possible and to truly meet clients where they are at.
As At The Crossroads celebrates our 20th anniversary, we want to reflect on the key moments that defined our organization’s work with youth on the streets of San Francisco and to hear from some of the people that helped make the last two decades possible. We interviewed more than 30 people about their experiences and about what At The Crossroads means to them. We’d like to invite you to explore these stories and hear from them in their own words.
I want to share one of my favorite stories from our newsletter with you, from a client of 16 years named Erica. When At The Crossroads has the privilege to work with a client over many years, there’s a deep level of trust that can develop in the relationship. For Erica, this has meant that she’s felt able to share a side of herself that she lets almost no one else into.
Erica says that her relationship with her counselor at ATC has been one of the more solid and consistent relationships in her life – and she feels she can always call us when life gets challenging. “Realistically I’ve been through one really, really, really, heavy life. Being that I’m like the main support for most people in my family, in my inner circle, I don’t ever have nobody for me. And so, when I really feel like it’s too much, that’s when I reach out.” Hear Erica’s full story in our 20th-anniversary newsletter.
The last two decades would not have been possible without your support – on behalf of ATC and our clients, thank you so much for investing your time, resources, and energy into our work. We hope you’ll consider giving in 2018 to ensure the next 20 years of At The Crossroads.In the coming week, you’ll be hearing from members of our staff, sharing reflections about their work at At The Crossroads and their favorite stories from our 20th-anniversary digital newsletter. I hope that you’ll take some time to read their reflections and to hear from our community in their own words.
All best,
Mari
Development Manager, At The Crossroads