Robyne's Nest

Last week, students enjoyed a Friendsgiving celebration at Robyne’s Landing, our student transitional living home. House parents Mark and Valeria provided the turkey and gravy, while our students brought an amazing variety of sides—everything from green bean casserole to pumpkin pie! Along with the delicious dinner and dessert, the evening was filled with camaraderie and competition, with some competitive games of Left, Right, Center, and fun prizes for the winners! The night wrapped up with each person reflecting on what they are grateful for, and sharing a blessing in their life on a leaf of the Thankful Tree. https://lnkd.in/dxjvi7kv

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is a national effort that a group of Orange County organizations participate in every year by creating a county-wide campaign to draw attention to the issue of homelessness in our community. Learn more about this year’s campaign and help change the conversation about homelessness in Orange County. https://lnkd.in/gzaZa4UG

Since we opened our front door in March 2024, Robyne’ Landing has been a full time home to 8 high school students at different times, each one in need of a consistent and secure place to call home while in high school, and to sleep well at night knowing they were safe.  Currently, house parents Valeria and Mark provide structure and support to our 3 guys and 2 girls, keeping these teens on course…getting students to/from school, completing homework, sharing “family time”, outings, and everything in between needed to guide and nurture our students on their paths to self-sufficiency. Our supervised, stable housing provides these teens with a safe place to thrive. Many of these kids have never had a consistent place to live with rules, boundaries and a full refrigerator. Our goal is to teach our students how to live with others, share responsibilities and to become self-sufficient adults. We are grateful to the City Huntington Beach, O.L. Halsell Foundation, Dhont Family Foundation, Rozar Family Foundation, and Employees Community Fund of Boeing for your partnership and support of Robyne’s Landing…thank you! https://lnkd.in/ghUj2Xjn

Robyne's Nest mission is to help homeless and at-risk high school students finish high school and pursue a path to self-sufficiency. Part of the path is quality mental health care that helps our students heal from the traumas of their childhood, of being homeless and feeling alone in life. The support system we provide students is relentless as we help them break the toxic cycles that lead to homelessness, domestic violence, human trafficking, unplanned pregnancies and more. Working with our local high school campuses, Robyne's Nest provides our students with one-on-one support and wrap-around services directly from our team. This ensures our students are getting the quality services they deserve and need to change their lives. Help us spread awareness by reposting and becoming a champion for students experiencing homelessness and toxic living environments! https://lnkd.in/gYd7dnBQ

Red Ribbon Week is celebrated annually from October 23-31, to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America, and to highlight the importance of living a drug-free life. It is an opportunity for parents, educators, and communities to reinforce the drug-free messages they share with their children throughout the year. During this week, youth and adults around the nation pledge to increase their knowledge by learning more about the destructive effects of drug abuse, including prescription drug misuse, and renew their commitment to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Our Ralph Ornelas spent the month of October in classrooms at many local schools, and conducted numerous assemblies during Red Ribbon Week, focusing on drug and alcohol awareness, with a strong emphasis on the dangers of fentanyl. We thank Ralph for his powerful messages in educating the youth in our community about the dangers of these substances, and providing strategies to have the confidence to say “no!” https://lnkd.in/gzANvbB9

Life Skills - Safe and Healthy Independent Living Our student life skills this week was taught by several CSULB nursing students on the topics of sleep, nutrition, and safety, especially for those living independently. Our students were very engaged in the discussions, and gained valuable insights and techniques to promote their health and safety. The session focused on: Sleep: Students learned tips and techniques for getting quality sleep, along with insights into its crucial role in health and mood. Nutrition: They discussed how nutrition significantly impacts mental and physical well-being, especially when managing meals independently. Safety: Topics covered included what to do during power outages, earthquakes, fires, and floods. These skills are essential for anyone learning to live on their own, and we are grateful to these CSULB students for a fun, practical and educational class! https://lnkd.in/g9pZkyWf

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Robyne’s Nest is a strongly volunteer driven organization, with incredible, compassionate, giving individuals donating their time and expertise to ensure we are able to continue our mission of guiding our local at-risk and homeless teens to break their toxic cycles and change their lives. This quarter we are honored to recognize volunteer Bret Berg, who supports Robyne’s Nest in so many wonderful ways! From Bret: "My wife Laura found Robyne's Nest a few years back when looking for a local charity that supported at-risk youth. After supporting them with monetary donations, she suggested I see if there was something more that I could do for them on a frequent basis now that I am recently retired.  After learning more about the organization and its needs, I am now helping in the Pantry keeping it clean, organized and ready for any of our students needing to restock their food and toiletries shelves. I am also helping with the organization of the food drives done with the local high schools, volunteering at local events as needed, and most recently, being a mentor to students as part of the Soaring for Success program." About Bret: Bret is married to his wife Laura, has 3 children and 4 grandchildren. In addition to working with Robyne's Nest, Bret also works with the Social Capital Academy at Cal State Fullerton which is a program designed to connect junior-year college students with a team of mentors and successful business professionals who give their time to help each participating student reimagine and prepare for the working world ahead. Similar to Robyne's Nest, many of these students are from underrepresented and first-generation backgrounds, often holding down jobs at the same time they are pursuing their degrees. As a mentor, we understand this and work alongside the students’ busy schedules and competing demands offering guidance and direction that may not otherwise be available to them through traditional academic channels. Our heartfelt thank you to Bret for his incredible support of Robyne’s Nest and our students!

Last week Dave Baylor of Gustafson Brothers Automotive provided students with an engaging introduction to the basics of car care and safety strategies. With the scenario of heading to a concert, Dave explained the importance of a “pre-trip check”. Students learned about checking oil, coolant, brake fluid, tire tread and tire pressure. They then hopped into the cars provided, and each suddenly got a flat tire (Dave tapping on the window, creating the flat tire sound!). Dave proceeded to “walk” the students through the list of steps to take for safety and changing their flat tire, so that they could get back on the road to “the concert.” A huge thank you to Dave and Gustafson Brothers Automotive for this exceptional class, and adding many valuable, practical tools in our students’ self-sufficiency toolboxes. We are so grateful to our incredible village for providing our teens with lessons and opportunities that help them to break their cycles and change their lives! https://lnkd.in/gBat5CP4

This week our own Nicole Trani and Breana Vanini hosted a very fun pumpkin carving and decorating event with our students at Lake Park. Tatum Trout from Tatum Treats provided adorable spider cookies, Board member Dick Deaner donated our perfect pumpkins, and Round Table HB supplied delicious pizzas. Students had a spooky, fun-filled evening decorating pumpkins as it got dark, and the excitement continued well into the night! Our Robyne's Nest mission to guide our students to break their toxic cycles and change the trajectories of their lives includes filling the voids in their lives. Providing these teens with fun, healthy camaraderie and bonding builds relationships, self-confidence, and promotes a wonderful sense of belonging and wellbeing! https://lnkd.in/g6aPYyng

Recently, volunteer Carensi Sanores presented an important Life Skills Health class - Sexual Health to our students, covering essential sexual health topics. Carensi guided students to recognize the importance of being responsible and in control of their bodies and understanding they have access to resources that promote learning and personal safety.  Carensi also discussed the emotional impact of sexual activity on young people as a component of the class. Given that many of our students come from backgrounds of sexual trauma and are no longer connected with their families, Robyne's Nest is deeply committed to breaking these harmful cycles and helping our students develop into healthy, self-sufficient adults. Carensi Sanores is getting her masters in Public Health at USC, and we are grateful for Carensi sharing her time and experience in support of our students. https://lnkd.in/gzkPQhTV