My SIster's House
A Stepping Stone to Success

By Susan Gibbons
According to John Boonstra, Street Outreach, Third Level, there are at least 600 homeless youth in the five-county area each year. Some couch surf, some camp out, but all are in need of a helping hand.  Cristy Allen, Executive Director, My Sister's House, extends one helping hand to young women ages 18  to 21 years.

Read complete story here.

April 23, 2012 Nonprofit helps out at-risk women 
By Carol South 

TRAVERSE CITY — Half a lifetime ago, Cristy Allen hit bottom.  Now in her early 30s, Allen is a long way from couch-surfing and trying to navigate turbulent teen years. The married mom of four, including three teenagers, has a heart for helping other young women in crisis or transition. She knows firsthand what they are going through and is determined to help. 

Allen formed My Sister's House to provide a safe haven for young women who are either at high risk of homelessness or who just turned 18 and have aged out of foster care. The new nonprofit's service area is Grand Traverse and Wexford counties. 

"I've been in the shoes of these young women and I have gone on to a healthy, productive and happy life and have been so blessed," said Allen. "Really, just one person can make such a difference to young women in these situations."

Leasing a home in Kingsley, My Sister's House will hold a community open house in May. Allen hopes by early summer to welcome six women ages 18-19 to the transitional living facility. Or, as she thinks of it, to a stable, family-like home that will help residents break the cycle of their unstable upbringing. Allen is determined to provide residents with tools for healthy independence.

"About half of foster children don't graduate from high school," said Allen of a population prone to poverty and addiction, among other challenges. "There's educational needs, life skills needs — oftentimes when you're bounced around from home to home there's no one to teach you budgeting, how to make a healthy meal, how to get by on small means."

While the idea of My Sister's House has percolated for years, Allen has spent the past year making it a reality — from organizing and raising money to community outreach and education. "There is a gap and a need and I felt real conviction from God to do this," said Allen. "It is a giant leap of faith because doors continue to open and people continue to support it "¦ we're on the cusp now."

A Cut-A-Thon held Sunday afternoon at Traverse City Central High School provided another fundraising opportunity plus the chance to spread the word. The first of what Allen hopes becomes an annual tradition featured cuts by stylists from member salons that comprise Global Hair and Fashion: Impres, Epiphany, Salon Verve and Signature. "What's special about this is that this is a dream plan from years ago," said Sandra Dunn, founder of Global Hair and Fashion and proprietor of Impres Salon. "Cristy worked for us years ago and she was looking to raise money and we'd been wanting to do a cut-a-thon forever so this was just synergy."

Services included cuts, manicures and chair massages as well as face painting, princess up-dos and a bounce house for children. A silent auction with a broad array of donated items also helped boost My Sister's House.Sharing some fun together brought Big Sisters/Big Brothers volunteer Lynette Atkins to the Cut-A-Thon with her little sister, who enjoyed receiving a princess "up-do" and tiara. "It was just really a lot of fun and for a good cause," Atkins said. 

Nine senior students from the Traverse City Beauty College also participated in the Cut-A-Thon. Julie Merriner, campus director for the school, is determined that her students contribute their talent and training to help others. "I like to bring them to these events because they can see a bunch of different career paths you can go on, not just be behind a chair," she said, noting that some participating stylists, as well as event organizer Cristy Allen, are former students. "And this is a great opportunity for them to network with salons before they graduate." 

For more information on My Sister's House, including the scheduled May open house, see www.mysistershouseonline.org.

 It’s 9 am and I’m 6 ft. up a ladder perfecting my very limited painting skills.  The color is “falling leaves”, but ‘pumpkin bisque’ might be more fitting. Painting, I’ve found is a great activity for reflection and prayer-especially if you’re a chronic multi-tasker like me. Today I’m feeling a huge sense of awe at all that has transpired in the last several months.  “Falling Leaves” will grace the dining room of My Sister’s House, which is a new local transition home for young women who are homeless or ‘aged-out’ of the foster care system, but also feels like a physical extension of my innermost self-my heart, my soul poured out into not only an idea, but now a physical place on the cusp of beginning.  From my perch on the ladder I can envision young women at a table in this room laughing, crying, learning, and healing.  

These last months have been busy; researching, writing programming, wrangling red tape and paperwork, fundraising, gathering a board, a staff, and a house! It is both exhilarating and frightening stepping out in faith to make this dream a reality.  It has been and continues to be so encouraging watching doors and hearts open within this community to partner with MSH and embrace young women who truly need our help.

I was off and running with the idea for a house last spring, but my journey to this place began as a troubled young women myself . As a teen I was filled with self-loathing and hopelessness, and spent time as a runaway.   The years since then have been ones of self-discovery and healing, finding hope and love in faith as well as passion and purpose.

It seems that all of my life’s experiences, from difficulty as a teen, to working with at risk- teens and all the places in between have culminated into a vision for this house of healing. Perhaps that is how all people feel when they finally discover their purpose? Birthed out of faith and passion for at-risk young people, my desire and that of MSH is not only to meet physical needs of impoverished young women, but to help them to realize their infinite potential and worth as well as teaching them skills to be productive and healthy in independence.

My Sister’s House is not the end of my story, but will be the beginning of many stories. Today I have a fantastic, supportive husband and children, as well as encouraging friends and support network.  My cup overflows with love and blessings and love is something that needs to be shared. I cannot wait for the first young women who will come to My Sister’s House, but until then I will continue to prepare, and for today that’s a second coat of “falling leaves”.

My Sister’s House is a new local non-profit transitional home for teenage girls who homeless, at high risk of being homeless or who have “aged out” of the foster care system. MSH is located just outside of Kingsley and will serve young women from both Grand Traverse and Wexford counties. In addition to providing a safe family-like home and daily necessities, My Sister’s House will empower young women through reality-based learning, designed to promote emotional, mental and social well-being. While at the house young women will work on education, employment and interpersonal goals, as well as life skills training. MSH will be a home for transformation as well as transition and will help young women move on to healthy, productive inde- pendence. My Sister’s house is seeking monetary support, donated items and volunteers. Please check out the MSH website www.mysistershouseonline.org for more information and ways to get involved.

Josh and Heather interviewed Cristy Allen of http://www.mysistershouseonline.org/ she is helping out young women

across the area GREAT story!!  Thanks for putting My SIster's House on the air Josh and Heather!

Click here to see the 9&10 News story by Jennifer Profitt & Photojournalist Justin DePrekel.

New Center For Homeless Teen Girls, My Sisters House, Needs Help To Open Doors
Posted On: 12/6/2011

A Grand Traverse County woman is turning an empty house into a center for homeless teenage girls. 

Cristy Allen of Traverse City started the non-profit, 'My Sister's House' just outside of Kingsley.

The program will work with teen girls who are either homeless or phased out of foster care. 

They'll work as a transitional housing center, coaching girls on life skills to help them stabilize their lives. 

Cristy says she knows what homeless teen girls are going through, having once been a runaway herself. 

Right now they're in the fund raising stage; they need about $70,000 to open their doors.