Pomp and Circumstance Will Play for Seven Village Teens
On-site Public High School Graduates Largest Class Ever

   SAN DIEGO — St. Vincent de Paul Village’s Toussaint Academy, the organization’s on-site county-run high school, is holding graduation ceremonies for seven teens – the largest senior class ever at the academy – on Friday, September 26, at 12 p.m., at the Toussaint Teen Center (TTC), located at 1404 Fifth Avenue.

   For the graduates – Marcus, Richard, Xavier, Rose, Alex, Brian and Manny – the significance of the day will mean more than welcoming the freedoms which come with a diploma and fast-approaching adulthood.

   "Graduating from high school is a huge accomplishment for anyone," says Rick Newmyer, program manager of the TTC. "But for our kids, something far greater than algebra and science stood in the way of their diplomas, and that’s homelessness."

   Each of the seven graduates found the TTC – a facility in downtown San Diego for homeless, abandoned and runaway teens – in a time of desperation, says Newmyer. But through the intensive counseling, education, life-skills classes and safe residence the TTC provides, the youngsters found hope.

   "Kids come to the teen center with fear and resentment," Newmyer says. "We do our best to heal by providing love, guidance and discipline – everything they didn’t have before they found us."

   Graduating classes of one or two students are not uncommon, but never before has the school presented diplomas to more than five teens in one year, making the accomplishments of these seven youngsters even more impressive. Newmyer says the success the school and the TTC enjoy can only happen with the unique and talented youngsters who enter the program.

   "Homelessness doesn’t mean you’re a criminal or delinquent," he says. "Our kids are reshaping the negative stereotypes that have always accompanied the homeless and, at the same time, they’re reshaping their lives."

   For more information (media only) on the Toussaint Academy graduation ceremonies, please call (619) 525-1608.

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