The term “couch surfing” may be new to some people, but for homeless students, it represents a hard life. Couch surfing is when a teenager finds themselves homeless for one reason or another and begins sleeping wherever they can, often on friends’ couches until the friend asks them to find somewhere else.

Greta Hinderliter, Natrona County’s homeless student liaison and Unaccompanied Students Initiative coordinator, is in charge of the program for homeless teens in Casper, Wyoming. The USI house opened in February of 2020. It houses teens, both male and female ages 16-20 who are unaccompanied by a parent or other adult. This homeless youth program’s overall goal is to support young people in Casper so they can focus on their goals and be safe.

“I work with the liaison in Cheyenne who had told me about the program and its success, so I checked about duplicating the project in Casper. We were able to begin once we secured funding”, explained Hinderliter. She also mentions that there has been great success in graduating students from the program, with 100% success among students who choose to continue the program.

Mimi’s House is another organization that offers help to homeless teens. This organization’s mission is to provide a family environment. Their focus is also to educate and support students in earning their diploma. “We then help them with post grad studies or training in a career. The students that live in the house have friends over, go on dates, have jobs, play sports, etc. It’s simply a home for kids that have nowhere else to live”, says Hinderliter. 

Jade Sims, an NCHS student who has volunteered at Mimi’s House, explains “The point of Mimi’s House was to house (teenagers) that didn’t have a place to live.” She and her family volunteered to help paint, clean and get the whole house ready and “every minute was worth it. “Working at Mimi’s House made me feel good to be helping out for a good cause, and I was so happy when I got to see their reactions!” 

For students who may need help with a homeless situation, they can contact Greta Hinderliter at [email protected]