I would not be where I am today if not for Huckleberry. The leadership skills I’ve gained and the relationships I’ve made through Huckleberry have had a huge impact on my life. My life before Huckleberry was a downward spiral. I was constantly fighting with my mother and getting into trouble in and out of […]
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“Huckleberry was life saving for me when I had nowhere to go.” – Yusuf’s Story
In 1997, at age 11, Yusuf Hansia moved to Mill Valley, CA from Bahrain to live with his grandparents. He remembers the culture shock and always being asked to repeat himself two or three times because of his accent. But culture shock wasn’t the only issue for Yusuf. He was raised predominantly by his grandparents […]
“My world changed the first time I walked in Huckleberry’s doors.” – Lateefah’s Story
My mom was a single mom and I was raised in the Western Addition. I had a couple of friends who tested positive for HIV, and those I found myself in peer relationships with were struggling to find place and space in the Western Addition. Drugs had really surrounded our community and there weren’t a […]
Remembering Danny Keenan – Huckleberry’s First HIV Program Director
In the 1980s, Huckleberry began focusing the growth of our health programming for youth. By the end of the decade, the HIV epidemic loomed large and Huckleberry began mounting its response with prevention programs for homeless and runaway youth, leading to a new era of activism and program development to address HIV, sexually transmitted infections, […]
“Huckleberry was very significant in my life.” – Michael’s Story
Like many high school seniors in 1974, Michael Gammino was feeling the pressure of attending a very competitive college-prep high school and weighing his options for post-secondary education. Unfortunately, too much of the pressure he faced his senior year came from conflict within his home. Michael’s parents did not support his desire to attend college. […]
“I know, first hand, that organizations like Huckleberry make a difference for kids.” – Wayne’s Story
During the Summer of Love, Wayne LaRue Smith was twelve and living in a chaotic and violent home in Reno. His bipolar and schizophrenic mother was an alcoholic, and he recalls a home where the police were regularly called and his mother was carted off in a straitjacket more than once. While watching TV one […]
