Matthews House aids transition through difficult years

By Libby James
Correspondent

Put a volleyball coach and a licensed clinical worker together over breakfast and bingo! One ends up with the ideal job for her experience and expertise. The other has a long-held vision defined and realized. And young adults needing support as they transition into adulthood find a place to go and compassionate people to help them.

The Matthews House was founded last year to fill the need for transition services for young adults--most on parole or aging out of foster care or the public school system.

A happy serendipity brought Jerri Howe and Sara Mitchell together to do this work. Howe and her husband, Steve, had recently returned to Colorado after 20 years in Phoenix where they raised three children and Howe coached high school and collegiate volleyball and basketball. After so many years mentoring young people, Howe found herself unable to quit. She began taking needy people into her home--sometimes for as long as six weeks. "My husband finally told me I needed to formalize my need to help people," she said.

Steve Howe supported his wife's passion by purchasing the charming home at 726 Mathews St. and agreeing to maintain it financially for a year.

"That was before I had a clear vision of what I was going to do," Howe said. "But I knew I was going to do something, and I knew I'd be able to find funds to do it."

Meanwhile, Mitchell was working happily as a multisystemic therapist at Attention Home in Cheyenne. After their breakfast conversation, Mitchell did some research and discovered the need for youth transition services in the area. A few weeks later she learned that she was to be laid off from her job.

Howe applied for nonprofit status, began writing grants and sent out a fund-raising letter to friends in the community. "When $5,000 came in, I knew I had enough money to ask Sara to join me, at least for three months."

As executive director, Howe oversees the business, writes grants, raises funds and does life coaching, while Mitchell, program director, serves as therapist, case manager and volunteer coordinator. She encourages anyone who is interested in becoming a mentor to contact her at 472-0609 through the web site www.thematthewshouse.org.

Still young and finding its way, the Matthews House has seven clients and a growing reputation among at-risk young adults as a place that offers encouragement, understanding and assistance for their journey to independence.

When young clients step inside the door, a comfortable leather couch and chairs invite conversation and relaxation. Downstairs there's a TV, reclining chair and lots of hang-out space. There's a lovely new kitchen, several carpeted meeting rooms and out back, there's a garden and spacious grassy area.

Clients are referred from several agencies, among them Poudre School District, Partners, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Youth Corrections. Those transitioning from foster care often have needs quite different from those on parole or young adults too old for public school services and unable to find appropriate work on their own.

The Matthews House offers goal-setting, living and relationship skills, career-planning and job search. Life skills courses help with communication, conflict and change management, problem-solving, nutrition and cooking, money management and parenting skills.

"We want to help clients realize they have options," Mitchell said. "We want them to know that they can have satisfying careers and healthy relationships."

On a chilly morning in early May, Kirk finished up his tuna sandwich, shut off the TV, and headed outdoors to work in the Matthews House garden. He's only 17, but he looks like an old pro stringing together a latticework to support his plants. Some seeds are in the ground and soon peppers and tomatoes will appear in his salsa garden.

Kirk has been a client for a month now, and will likely stick around for the six months that he is on parole. During 32 months of incarceration for everything from theft to fighting, drug and gang activity, Kirk earned a GED and figured out that he wants a different life. He's glad for the help he's getting with transportation, job search and finding a cheap place to live.

For young adults ages 18 to 25, who fall through the cracks as they seek ways to transition from troubled adolescence to healthy adulthood, the Matthews House can be a lifesaver. Kirk is only one of the young adults who are thankful that Mitchell and Howe came together over breakfast last year.