At 18, Quendy was a homeless high school senior.

After "couch hopping" at friends’ houses, she quickly ran out of options. A school counselor referred her to The Bridge for Runaway Youth, a temporary emergency shelter and United Way partner agency. After two weeks she moved to a longer-term shelter.

Quendy also started accessing Project OffStreets, a drop-in shelter for teens coordinated by multiple agencies, including United Way and YouthLink, a United Way partner agency. Project Offstreets was designed to help homeless teens become self-sufficient and live a life off the streets.

At the drop-in center, teens (16 and older) can get a warm meal, wash their clothes, take a shower, get tested for STDs, pick-up safer sex supplies or just rest in a safe place off the streets. Located close to downtown Minneapolis, the center is staffed with case managers who can help teens set goals and address issues, if they wish.

After Quendy received her GED, she was encouraged to apply to college. Years later, the Macalester College alumna became a YouthLink board member and proud mom. She was a rental assistance program manager at Simpson Housing and helped 30 low-income families set and keep housing goals. Many of these families had also been homeless—something Quendy knows about personally. Quendy said of YouthLink, "I don’t know if I’d be here without their intervention."

Quendy now works at Kaleidoscope Place in Minneapolis helping children and families in the Phillips neighborhood.

United Way’s Agenda for Lasting Change focuses on 10 measurable goals in our three focus areas: Meeting Basic Needs, Supporting Health and Independence and Nurturing Children and Families. One goal, in partnership with the Governor’s Initiative, is ending long-term homelessness in the Twin Cities by 2010.

• Read more Success Stories.