Unaccompanied Students Initiative Helps Homeless Teens In Cheyenne, Laramie

The Unaccompanied Students Initiative [USI] helps people between the ages of 16-20 who have found themselves without a home in Cheyenne and Laramie.

USI until recently also had a Casper branch, but that was forced to close due to a lack of funding.

Julie Fogg is the network director for USI. She was a guest on the ''Weekend in Wyoming'' programs this past Saturday on am 650, KGAB. You can hear the interview on the audio file attached to this article [see below].

Program Emphasizes Education, Life Skills

Fogg says of the program "We focus on education first. The we focus on life skills and all of the tools that a young person would need to be independent and successful as they move into the next season of their life."

Fogg says one thing that makes the program viable is that Wyoming is the only state in the nation that has a law allowing homeless16-17 year-olds to enter into contracts. To qualify they have to get an affidavit saying they are homeless signed by a qualified adult. such as a licensed professional counselor, clergy member or similar qualified adult. The affidavit is notarized. It can then be used to get medical care, rent an apartment, or be used in place of the signature of a parent or guardian that would normally be required.

Fogg says that unique law is what makes the program possible. She says she goes to national events for people helping teens, she often gets questions about it from residents of other states.

Fogg says people frequently ask ''Tell us about that statute? How did that happen?'' She says Wyoming's law may serve as a model for similar laws in other states. ''It's really cool that we have that here in Wyoming and we are able to provide the care that we can to those 16 and 17-year-olds..'' Fogg says.

She says the problem of homeless teens tends to go unrecognized, in part because "it's really easy for those people to camouflage by 'couch surfing' or living in a car or something similar.

Stats from the organization's website say that roughly 2 percent of students enrolled in Wyoming schools were identified as homeless. Others may have been forced to drop out of school by the lack of a home.

Meanwhile, 81 percent of graduates of the USI program had a full-time job or stable housing and were enrolled in school full time.

Teens who may want to enroll in the program can apply here.

Listen To The Interview For More Details

For more details on the program, listen to the full Julie Fogg ''Weekend In Wyoming" interview below.