BOSTON, Mass.  — Since age 10, E.R. Fletcher has lived most days, not knowing if they have a place to call home. Now 22, Fletcher first ended up living on the streets after leaving an abusive home.

"Homelessness has always intersected my identity growing up," Fletcher said.

Fletcher is also transgender. He is accounting for an estimated 40% of homeless youth who identify as LGBT.

"I should be celebrating this but I’m so busy trying not to starve that I can’t even think of what my identity is," they added.

Millions of young people in this country experience homelessness yearly, including 26-year-old Armani Pascual, who first became homeless at age 15.

"I wasn’t able to finish school because I didn’t know where I would sleep after school so I would stay where I was at so I had a spot," Pascual said.

But Connor Shoen is trying to change the status quo.

"The challenges they’re facing are very different from older adults facing chronic homelessness," the Shoen said.

Back in college, the 23-year-old and a friend were volunteering at a youth homeless shelter in Boston, Massachusetts. They realized many of the young people they saw were experiencing homelessness because they couldn’t hold down a job.

So at 18, Shoen co-founded a non-profit called Breaktime.

"What I saw over and over again when I was working at a youth shelter and young people would get a job for a few weeks but then a few weeks in something would happen," he noted.

The idea of Boston-based Breaktime is to help get homeless youth job training and placement that helps them break the cycle of homelessness long-term. Young people in the program go through three phases of training.

Phase one is “Launchpad,” three weeks of work readiness coaching and financial advising.

Phase two is “Liftoff,” a three-month job placement at a local non-profit or small business. But participants' paychecks are coming from Breaktime thanks in part to grants and donations.

"Young people get to work in the community. They’re on our payroll so they have the security of a paycheck every week and build up skills in the long term," Schoen said.

The final phase of the program is called “Stable Orbit,” where young people get three years of follow-up support as they secure full-time jobs and housing.

"We provide financial assistance, monthly check-ins and intervene when things are going array," Shoen added.

In the last few years the program has helped more than 110 homeless youth find employment, and according to Breaktime, 77% of their alumni also now have stable housing.

Including Armani Pascual.

"I got approved for an apartment because someone sat down and taught me the things I should’ve been taught as a child," Pascual said.

Breaktime’s founders want to eventually get the attention of lawmakers and find a way to expand the program into communities from coast-to-coast.

Their hope is to one day break the cycle of youth homelessness by giving young people the kinds of careers they can flourish in.

"From city hall to the state house to the halls of Congress to ensure legislators are making informed decisions how to advance policy, distributing funding," Shoen said.

'Lean into it': Firefighter honored for answering call to adopt 2 girls in horrific situation

Updated: 1:30 PM EST Jan 19, 2021

Firefighter Richard Jett happened to be working at a different fire station and ended up meeting two girls on a welfare check at a storage unit.Jett, a man of faith, knew God was trying to tell him something.At the time in October 2017, the girls were just 2 years and 4 days old.He ended up adopting them, joining his family of two other adopted children.His colleagues recently honored him in a surprise ceremony and given a surf trip by a charity in the area, S.W.E.L. (Surf Waves Enjoy Life), that takes veterans and first responders surfing.For more information on S.W.E.L, click here.

SHARONVILLE, Ohio — The gym is not new, but the owners are. Next Level Fitness and Training reopened in Sharonville this year after Michael and T’Denise Myers took over in January.

“There is over a million dollars' worth of brand-new equipment here,” said Michael Myers. “This is a state-of-the-art fitness facility if you're looking for cardio equipment, ellipticals, treadmills. There is resistance equipment, free weights -- anything you can think of.”

The 30,000+ square-foot gym is the largest state of the art fitness facility in Sharonville, and the new owners told WCPO they have big plans for the community.

“Our goal is every time someone crosses the threshold of these doors, or a family does, to provide the most amazing customer service experience,” said Myers. “Better than anyone in the fitness industry.”

Not only does Next Level Fitness offer educational childcare and fun fitness classes, like yoga, Pilates, Zumba and spin, but it also doubles as a non-profit called the Dream Center.

For 20 years, Michael and T’Denise have done community work under the organization, funding programs like the Michael’s Journey Autism program which honors the couple's son and brings awareness about autism.

“We are one of the first non-profit organizations to have two autistic characters, mascot characters named Mikey. We call him the superhero mascot and Majestic, the super princess,” said T’Denise Myers.

Starting in June, the gym will operate 24 hours a day. The couple's vision is to offer programs designed around community empowerment, education and eliminating hunger.

“As the market is opening up when there is not group fitness going on, from a technology standpoint, we teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” He said. “Yes, here in the Next Level Fitness Dream Center.”

As one of the largest Black-owned fitness gyms in the Tri-State, the Myers hope their story inspires.

“Being family-owned, it's an honor and a pleasure, so I take it personally and I just give God all the glory,” she said. “We wouldn’t have been here without him.”

You can learn more about the Dream Center here. To check out the gym and for more information about memberships, click here or call (513) 918-2011.