Stepping up to the need Sisu began as a mission project in 2010, collecting necessities for homeless youth. A day center to serve youth in crisis opened in 2014, which was quickly outgrown, and in 2018, the overnight shelter opened to provide services seven days a week to youth ages 15 to 22. Sixteen beds are available, and Sisu is one of the only organizations offering emergency shelter to this transitional age group. Sisu is a low-barrier shelter, not requiring ID like many others do, and they are also LGBTQ+ affirming, with 40 to 60 percent of youth served identifying at LGBTQ+ and citing family rejection as the main reason they are facing homelessness. Staff at Sisu asks each youth for their preferred pronouns and name each day when they check in and commits to honoring those identities. “They are lacking a secure sense of themselves because they’ve been put down for being who they are,” said Holland. “By being affirming, we give them a more secure sense of their own identity and they can go out in the world and be more confident in who they are.” Youth receive a place to stay, clothing, hot meals and case management to connect them to metro resources. Some stay a night or two, some stay months, depending on their needs. Prior to the pandemic, Sisu also served drop- in youth who didn’t need a place to sleep but did need resources and connection. While Sisu isn’t a residential mental health facility, Holland’s background in providing wraparound, whole-family case management for youth in trauma or with mental health challenges has served their population well in managing related behaviors within the shelter and connecting youth to services to help. Holland’s abilities to both build trusting rapport with youth and partnerships with community organizations to serve them have created a supportive environment designed to meet youth where they are, and her team regularly communicates with service providers they refer LGBTQ+ youth to to ensure they also understand and commit to offering services in an affirming manner. Opportunities Industrialization Center and the Department of Mental Health provide life and job skill readiness training for Sisu youth, including goal setting, creating a budget and taking driver’s ed. Sisu offers monthly health fairs through Community
HOLLAND'S MOST IMPORTANT LIFE ROLE IS THAT OF MOM TO HER THREE KIDS.
Health Centers of Oklahoma, health and wellness programming and doctor visits with Diversity Family Health, which focuses on serving the LGBTQ+ community, as well as opportunities to learn about birth control, pregnancy, STDs and HIV testing. While helping youth achieve housing is always an end goal, for Holland, it’s the little wins, like a teen remembering to take their medication consistently or prioritizing a good night’s sleep, that she celebrates, knowing it’s their culmination that will lead to stability.
“Especially in this field of work, successes don’t always look linear and growth doesn’t mean checking all the pretty boxes in a row,” explains Holland. “Small victories is where you know real growth is happening.” Prior to the pandemic and becoming increasingly vital throughout, Holland and her team have worked with local organizations like Other Options to provide biweekly food package drop-offs to already housed youth who need support. In addition, her team assisted youth in accessing stimulus
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