Try Program
..a place for young women to find new hope
The History of theTRY Program
Teaching and Restoring Youth, TRY, has been serving young women in Buffalo since 1997. However, the roots of the program date back to 1990.The TRY Program literally opened its doors in December, 1997 after 7 long years of planning, fund raising and preparation. In the years since TRY opened its doors, close to 200 young women have been in residence. Click above to read the TRY Progam's history and how the organization came to be.
Referring Potential Residents
Residents are registered at TRY through self or second party referral processes. To send us information about a young girl whom you believe needs our help, please complete our under the referrals tab above.
TRY Program Advisory Board
Men and women from all walks of professional life in WNY serve on the TRY Program Advisory Board. The Board members bring a wide range of expertise helping to determine the direction of the organization. Together, Board members actively contribute to the daily function and the ongoing mission of TRY. Click above to review the board membership or contact us for more information.
Client Info Sheet
Origin of the Program
While the TRY Program opened its doors in December, 1997, this was after 7 long years of planning, fund raising and preparation. The program evolved as a result of a combination of care for young women overlooked on the streets of the City of Buffalo.
In 1990, on her way to visit parishioners in St. Mary of Sorrows Parish on the east side of Buffalo, Sr. Mary Augusta Kaiser SSJ, a veteran high school teacher and parish minister, began meeting young girls on the streets who "all looked like they were looking for something." She discovered in her conversations with these young women that, as a result of various troubles in their lives, they were all prostituting themselves to survive. While their past experiences differed, they all had one thing in common: they were all homeless and without hope. Listening to their pain and seeing these young women daily, Sister met with the Buffalo Police Department Vice Squad to discuss possible intervention. The police set up an undercover operation, and subsequently 177 prostitutes were arrested within a 2 month period in that area of the city. Fearing that this lone action would not address the young womens' need for a safe recovery of life and dignity, Sister set up an Advisory Board including social workers, educators, block club members and a former prostitute to address the question of what could be done to assist the young women. While the police action was a great start, most of the girls would end up back on the streets after serving their two months in jail. The conditions of their lives—their homelessness, their lack of hope and self-worth—remained unchanged. They needed a different path to regain their lives as contributing young people in the community. This led Sr. Mary Augusta, along with Rev. Roy Herberger to do something about the situation, to create a new model for a program which would support realistic recovery and save the lives of these young women who saw a prostitutes violent street life as their only option for survival. And this is how the TRY program began.
Obviously, the first need was to find a shelter to convert to a residence for the program. It took seven years to find a building (a former convent), to raise the funds required to buy it from the Diocese of Buffalo, and then to raise close to $250,000 to bring the structure up to code. Finally, another
$35,000 was raised for the furnishings. The Teaching and Restoring Youth (TRY) Program, became a project of the Fillmore-Leroy Area Residents, Inc. and opened its doors in December of 1997. Now as in those early days, the mission of TRY remains the same: to empower committed young women to rebuild their lives and become productive members of society.
Within one year in 1998, TRY saw a need to expand the program. The first ten residents were court mandated young women with arrest records for prostitution. Every one of these young women had been sexually abused as a child before she became involved in prostitution. TRY expanded the scope of the program to extend the preventative arm of service. The young women who had suffered the street life informed this expansion; their stories called for early intervention in the lives of young women who suffered abuse and exploitation therefore, becoming at risk of being drawn into the violent cycle of prostitution. This recovery and preventative mission underpins the TRY Program's work today. Today, the TRY residence includes ten individual bedrooms, a community-centered environment with spaces for group and individual recreation, counseling, intervention workshops, shared meals and study. TRY comfortably shelters homeless young women between the ages of 16 and 25 who possess a desire to change their lives. Take a photo tour of our facility on this page.
TRY residents are court-mandated, agency-referred or self-referred. Many of these young women left home to escape abusive situations or were put on the streets by their parents or other family members. Over half are victims of child incest; many are suffering from alcohol or drug addictions. Some of the young women come into the program with sexually transmitted diseases which they are unaware they have contracted. When they enter the program, ninety percent of the women do not have a high school diploma, GED or positive job experience. Once they enter the program they commit to returning to school or a GED program. Generally, girls stay in the program between 6 months to a year. In this safe home, young women rediscover dignity, begin to trust relationships and work with a caring staff which enables them to make positive decisions resulting in independent lives. Here at TRY, young women have a chance to reflect on their lives safe from the streets, bolstered by their own personal commitment to make a better life for themselves through education, medical and psychological care, recreation, exploration of arts, and participation in meaningful community service. They interact daily with peers and adults—staff members and volunteers—who encourage growth, change and good humored well-being.
Since TRY opened its doors in 1997, close to 200 young women have been in residence. Many other young women have been interviewed and referred elsewhere. The young women who are accepted into the TRY program are those who realize that they need to make a positive change in their life and are motivated to do so in TRY's structured living environment.
Do You Know Someone Who Needs A Helping Hand?
TRY accepts referrals requests made by a friend, family member, case worker or by the young woman in need of help herself. Once you contact us, we'll meet with you to discuss the best interests of everyone involved and the most appropriate path to get a potential resident the help she needs.
To send us information about a young girl whom you believe needs our help, please complete our and return it to:
Teaching and Restoring Youth Program
228 Brinkman Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14211
TRY Advisory Board
The TRY Program Advisory Board plays a key role in determining the direction of the organization. The Board, created by Sr. Mary Augusta Kaiser, guides TRY as the organization grows and faces new challenges. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or feedback.
Mary Augusta Kaiser SSJ , Chair
Mollie Brewster . Molly Coffey . Diane Cortese . Diane Gianadda OSF.
Terrence Gress . Catherine Gress . Betsy Harris . Sharon Lanza .
Maureen Ludwig . Daria Pratcher . Donald Schrems . David Velasquez .
Sally Tower . Adele Wawrzynek
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What Is The TRY Program?
A: TRY is a transitional housing program with 24 hour supervision for young women. Our home offers a loving, structured environment to women who are homeless and suffered from abuse, violence and victimization.
Q: What makes TRY unique as an intervention
and treatment program?
A: TRY 's success is driven by the program's mission and the commitment of the residents and staff to truly change lives around. The program requirements create a structure which nurtures self-direction and yet provides an experience of community, belonging and worth which many residents have never felt in their lives. Many of our residents have "fallen through the cracks" of the legal and social service interventions. At TRY, we help them navigate those services with individualized case management. We work together with local agencies, the courts, psychologists, doctors, educators and law enforcement personnel to assist young women in making positive decisions to turn their lives around. Our girls come from all over Western New York; the common denominator in their life experience is terribly--the experience of victimization, lost dignity and hopelessness.
Q: Who Is Eligible For The TRY Program?
A:Young women between the ages of 16 and 25 who are homeless and who have suffered from or are at risk for abuse, violence and victimization and are serious about rebuilding their lives.
Q: How Long Is The Program?
A: The anticipated stay is 6 months to one year.
Q: What Is Required Of Participants In The TRY Program?
A: Participants in the TRY Program are required to:
- Complete a high school education or enroll in a 2 or 4 year college or job training program
- Participate in individual counseling and if necessary family counseling
- Engage in meaningful community service
- Participate in all group activities (social/recreational/workshops)
- Work toward the development of independent living skills
- Work toward a sense of community with other residents
- Participate in necessary medical evaluations
Q: What Is The Referral Process For The TRY Program?
A: Self referrals are accepted, as well as referrals from the courts and community agencies. To make a referral, complete the Client Information Form and forward to the case manager at TRY. She will promptly set up an initial interview with the young woman to tour the house, learn more about the program, and to assess her suitability for admission. After this first meeting, a second interview will be set to meet with the Director who will make the final decision on acceptance. For further information, call TRY at 892-2814 and speak to the staff directly.
Q: What Happens After You Leave TRY?
A: When a young woman is ready to leave TRY, she is assisted in finding a safe, permanent living situation. Follow-up and after-care are provided.
TRY offers case management, information and links to:
- Job training
- Housing
- Employment
- Educational opportunities
Take a tour of our home.
Click to enlarge photos
