Our Second Stories

Listen to the Second Stories Podcast

The Second Stories podcast is dedicated to telling stories of people who had first stories full of hardship and hopelessness, yet were able to change the narrative and write their own second story. Their stories of resilience and hope, but also tributes to the people and experiences and organizations that made it possible for them to start again.

Listen to the Podcast

Not long ago Jake was living in a supportive family, but when his mom died things changed. His step dad wasn’t able to make the mortgage payments and they lost their house. A family member offered to let him stay for a while, but all they could spare was a place to sleep in their walk-in closet. One day, a school social worker realized what was going on and called Second Story.  [Continue reading]

It seemed like every time “Nyomi” and her mom talked it turned into an argument. At first they just disagreed about little things throughout the day, but as Nyomi got older the arguments grew more and more intense. Nyomi’s mom heard about Second Story for Teens in Crisis and reached out in an effort to improve her relationship with her daughter.  [Continue reading]

When “Moesha” found out she was pregnant, her mom kicked her out of the house and Moesha became homeless. Now a part Second Story, Moesha is attending life skills and parenting classes while continuing at her job. Moesha was handed a story written with bitterness and tinged with hardship, but she’s determined to write her own second story, one marked by hope, confidence, and dignity.   [Continue reading]

When Sofia heard that her father was moving out of the country, she refused to leave her house and stopped attending the Safe Youth Project. After a few weeks, the program coordinator called Sofia and asked her to start coming back, everyone missed her. Sofia agreed, and in no time she started feeling happier and more hopeful.   [Continue reading]

“Delilah” had been staying with an older man for almost a week when her anxious parents finally located her. She came to the teen shelter, and admitted to the counselors that she wasn’t always searching for respect in her relationships, but running away from loneliness instead.   [Continue reading]

Izzy shivered in the dark, cradling her growing belly. She was pregnant. She imagined caring for her baby in her tent without heat, without four sturdy walls, totally exposed to the wind and cold. She knew she couldn’t stay there much longer. So Izzy reached out to Second Story for Young Mothers.  [Continue reading]

“Eliza” felt like she had plunged into a nightmare. In a moment, she lost everything she held close: her parents were killed, requiring her to leave everything she knew at home and move to the United States to live with extended family. In the midst of her tension, Eliza came to Second Story’s teen shelter.   [Continue reading]

“Maria”, an upcoming 5th grader, always asked for help with language arts. But Maria wasn’t simply frustrated by the assignment--she was even having trouble reading the instructions. Then she met a Safe Youth Project volunteer named Lisa.  [Continue reading]

"Debbi" was kicked out of her home by her father. She'd been receiving demeaning comments and emotional abuse from her father for a long time. With us she found a safe place to stay, warm meals, and support.  [Continue reading]

The lice went away. But the stigma did not. Bella became embarrassed that she had experienced a lice episode, and began avoiding the Safe Youth Project.  [Continue reading]

"My father, he didn’t know I existed. Not until I was three, when my mother passed away. He was notified, and got joint custody with my adopted mom."  [Continue reading]

Claire was apprehensive about sharing personal details. She was afraid that our counselors would return her to live with her father.  [Continue reading]

In a life-shattering event, Tommy’s mother left him, and he and his father were alone. Tommy felt abandoned. He lost the ability to trust others.  [Continue reading]

When she first arrived, her mother told our staff that 12-year-old Kayla was having difficulty making friends and adjusting to the US school system.  [Continue reading]

Ricky could have become a runaway, and stepped onto the path to homelessness, or succumbed to the promises of gangs who prey upon high school students living marginal lives.  [Continue reading]