Quentin Anderson doesn't know where he'll sleep tonight.
It could be under a bridge, in a park or under library steps, but one thing he's pretty sure of is that it won't be any place he calls home.
Quentin, 22, is homeless.
His mother died of cancer in 2006 shortly after Quentin graduated high school.
"It was one of her dreams to see me graduate," said Quentin, who had lived his whole life in Fontana. "She was sick a long time, but she hung on just for me."
For a while Quentin sought refuge with various relatives, but the time came when they couldn't help him anymore and he was out on the streets.
"My aunt tries to help when she can, but she has so many people living at her house she just doesn't have room for one more and I was the one more."
Venessa Vega, 25, of Fontana follows up on a job interview at the Transitional Age Youth Center in Rancho Cucamonga earlier this month. The center provides services for the homeless and/or mentally ill, ages 16 to 25.
About a month ago, Quentin learned of Pacific Clinics Transitional Age Youth Services, or TAY, in Rancho Cucamonga.
TAY is a drop-in center for young adults 16 through 25 years old. It offers a safe heaven equipped with a shower, kitchen and laundry.
"It's a place kids can go to have a hot meal, wash their clothes or just have someone to talk to," said Maria Ramirez, TAY's director.
Ramirez has been at the center since its opening in August 2008 and has seen more than 30 drop-ins a day.
"We know there are more, a lot more," she said. "They just don't know we're here."
Pacific Clinics is a nonprofit behavioral healthcare corporation founded in 1926. It has more than 80 locations in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties. That includes the five TAY centers in Rancho Cucamonga, Yucca Valley, Irwindale, Los Angeles and Oxnard.
Pacific Clinics also have programs assisting older adults, families, multi-age and multicultural programs.
TAY centers offer help with gaining education, transportation, job search and counseling. There is a computer lab with Internet access, a recreation room, homework help, mentoring, tutoring and a comfy retreat to watch television.
"I am so thankful I found this place," Quentin said. "I didn't think there was anyplace for me to go, but here I've met kids my age going through the same thing I'm going through. No one is judging me because they understand where I'm coming from."
Raymond Rosen knows exactly how Quentin feels. Raymond, 22, has been seeking sanctuary at TAY since February. He's been on the streets a long time and is wary of telling anyone where he sleeps at night.
"A lot of us who come here are on the streets," he said. "At night, we try and sleep together, it's safer that way."
Raymond also receives mental health care at the TAY facility for bi-polar disorder and hallucinations.
His services are through Pacific Clinics Full Service Partnerships, FSP, which are funded by the Mental Health Services Act.
Pacific Clinics provides field-based services and substance abuse/mental health treatment to young adults who are homeless, recently emancipated, recently incarcerated or otherwise at high risk. FSP slots are limited and there is usually a waiting list for these services.
"They're even trying to help me get my SSI," Raymond said. "They are really nice here and they really try to help."
Venessa Vega, 25, has been coming to TAY since March. Her friends told her about it.
"I'm here because I'm looking for a job," said Vega, a Fontana resident. "I'm blessed, I have a home and I bring things here to donate whenever I can. This place does so much good for so many. It's like a family and I see the kids here all the time helping each other."
Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin , August 23, 2009