Tessa's Story

Meet Tessa. 

To most people, Tessa looks like your typical teen. She shows up to school every day and greets everyone with a smile. She works hard to maintain an above-average GPA and is on track to graduate. Tessa dreams of one day having a career in a field where she can help others, such as a therapist. 

But what no one saw was that Tessa was experiencing homelessness. 

Homelessness doesn’t always look the way you expect it to. It doesn’t act a certain way or earn certain grades. It can be anyone—even a kid like Tessa. 

No one at Tessa’s school knew about her situation. She didn’t talk about it, and she didn’t “look” homeless. But in reality, she was living in a car, trying to hold onto the little hope she had left. 

Eventually, Tessa made the brave decision to talk to her school’s social worker, who immediately connected her with CEDARS, where she found safety and support in our Emergency Shelter. 

At CEDARS, Tessa began to rebuild. Our staff helped her get settled and process her situation, as well as determine her next steps. We provided Tessa with educational support and helped her get into a CEDARS-supported apartment. She also found resources and support at CEDARS Youth Outreach Center (YOC), where she often dropped in to do laundry, eat a hot meal, and pick up necessary supplies.  

When it was time for Tessa to move into her apartment, CEDARS staff were there to make it feel like home and connected with her school’s bus services to ensure that Tessa still made it class on time from her new home. 

Because of her courage and strength, and the support she found at CEDARS, Tessa feels more confident and hopeful in her future. 

Youth homelessness doesn’t always look like what you’d expect. It happens here, even in Nebraska, to kids who could be sitting next to yours in class. But CEDARS is here, too. We are here to provide kids with the safety and stability they deserve—always.