Northern California
The young adults of Northern California as part of Sai Ashraya initiative identified two teens coming to the Bill Wilson shelter and helped them out of homelessness. One youth is from a city which is 150 miles from San Jose. He had come to Bay Area in search of greener pastures. He was living in the shelters for two months and is trying his maximum to get food on the plate. The second youth is local to Bay Area and works at odd places to make ends meet. Odd places include coffee shops, restaurants and even as an undertaker.
Yes, you read that right, the teen had worked as an undertaker in the past to appease his hunger. Bhagawan often talks about the suffering of homeless in Bay Srea and inspires the volunteers to come together and work towards the upliftment of the surrounding community, especially youth and children. It is overwhelming when Bhagawan talks about it, it is even more overpowering when the volunteers see the real-life stories of homeless teens.
When these two teens showed interest for job training, the Sai Ashraya team members were more than happy to help them. The Sai Ashraya volunteers quickly built their resumes, taught them some basic skills like MS Word, MS excel and honed their soft skills and made them interview ready. They both were then sent to an agency which does free training and provides them with a stipend. They also place them in companies in the Bay Area.
The two youth are now undergoing skill-based training that would place them in fast, power-packed careers. The way Sai Ashraya volunteers get to meet such needy youth who are looking for such miraculous change is in itself a big miracle. Every youth that is taken out of homelessness tells a beautiful story on how God’s hand is seen in their life at crucial junctures. They don’t know that God is whom the Sai Ashraya team worships in the form of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Bhagawan declared that Sai Ashraya is not a project that is being executed in California, but Sai Ashraya is what is in your heart. Ashraya means refuge or shelter. No wonder Bhagawan had beautifully named this as Sai Ashraya several years ago even before the devotees realised what this is. The journey to Sai is a journey of Love, therefore making ones heart a Sai Ashraya is the foremost idea.