New Outlook Academy heals teenagers through shared experience

On the border of Baldwin Borough, inside New Outlook Academy, young women ages 13-18 find support. Nate Gillis is the Program Director for girls who've experienced abuse, neglect, and violence as kids.
"Trauma holds no boundaries," said Gillis.
He said, they go the extra mile for the girls at New Outlook Academy to help all of them change their lives, "because they are just kids and they're here from suburbs, to rural, to urban."
Students find healing through academics, counseling, extracurricular activities, and more, but it's not without even more growth and life experiences outside the classroom, thanks to the non-profit, Tickets for Kids.
Gillis gave an example and said, "(One girl) she is 17 years old. She has never done any of those things. She has never been to a museum. She's never played mini golf. She's never been to a live sporting event."
The non-profit takes ticket donations to museums, cultural, educational, and athletic events, and then gives them to the most vulnerable youth through about 600 non-profits and Title I schools. Tickets for Kids provides at-risk children with experiences to inspire hope, dreams, and achievement for a lifetime. It's in various states across the nation now, but it started right here, in Pittsburgh.
In one year alone, Tickets for Kids provided more than 55,000 tickets to vulnerable youth in Pittsburgh. These outside experiences help facilitate mentorship opportunities, too.
"They are learning soft skills," said The Tickets for Kids Charities Executive Director, Brandice Miller. "They have the ability to explore different careers that are open to them."
She said, kids get time to be a kid and feel included with others having shared life experiences who are also in their age range.
Last week, girls from New Outlook Academy went to a Pirates game, and for many of them, it was for the first time.
"There was actually a girl in tears by the end of the trip, and not only was it so special to her that she was in tears, but I was in tears, Nate was in tears, Joe from the Pirates was in tears," said Miller.
18-year-old New Outlook Academy graduate, Breena Beoo, said with laughter, "I love that guy (Joe) so much. I gave him a hug before we left."
If you don't understand the significance of the tickets these girls receive yet, just ask the girls what they think.
"It's cool because I got to experience it with a few of the staff, I got to experience it with the kids, but like it makes me want to do even more like the opportunities I've had when I'm in here they make me want to go out of my comfort zone and do new things and have new experiences," Beoo said.
18-year-old New Outlook Academy graduate, Jaleiah Mickel, also said, "I just enjoyed like the whole thing."
"These are happy tears, like all I can tell you is that I don't know," Mickel said through tears. "I just feel so much better at life, like I don't know I feel like much stronger."
It opens doors and provides equitable access to all children. Tickets for Kids creates life experiences that translate into growth inside and outside of the classroom.
"When I say Tickets for Kids makes an impact, I am certain that they have changed lives and even saved lives with the tickets that they afford us the opportunity to let our kids just be kids," said Gillis.
For more information on Tickets For Kids and New Outlook Academy, click here.

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