- [Giselle] Girl Scout cookies,
Kellogg's cafe, second floor!
- [Girl] Yes, come on!
We sell all of it, we sell all of them!
- Awesome!
Show them the way, girls, show them the way!
You having fun? You need more cards?
Go ahead.
For me, being a part of this movement
gave me that sense of feeling empowered.
- I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!
- I'm done, yes!
- What I have done with this troop
has definitely opened up something
that's been dormant in a lot of people for a long time,
and that's doing the right thing.
- [Woman] Ah, that's my favorite cookie!
- [Girl] I'm not the favorite?
(girls laughing)
- They're bringing 'em in.
Oh god.
I'm out of breath. (laughs)
I didn't even walk that far.
(soft uplifting music)
When you're in a traditional Girl Scouting troop,
it's easy for you to go to your meetings every week.
They can see normal faces that you see every day.
But when you're in the shelter system,
you don't have that.
There is no stability.
You don't know if you'll be there for long.
You don't know when you'll be moved again.
(mellow uplifting music)
Troop 6000 is the first Girl Scouting troop
that's solely made for girls
who are living in the New York City shelter system.
There are about 8,000 homeless girls living in New York City
who are of Girl Scouting age.
So, for now, my dream is
to be able to reach all 8,000 girls.
Jade, go sit on the sofa, please?
Jade, go sit on the sofa, please.
We're gonna do our homework over here.
Put the paint on that side of the table.
You see the line there?
So, that's the mountain...
- Yeah.
You can paint that.
And then you paint the sun.
My children and I ended up in a shelter in 2016
because our home was sold to make way for new condos
that were being built.
Trying to find a home in New York City with five children
is almost near impossible.
(soft dramatic music)
I found myself with my back against the wall
and now idea of how to get out of it.
So, we ended up in the shelter in Long Island City.
My kids had no one to talk to about it
and felt like they couldn't let anyone know,
felt ashamed about it.
When children are in the shelter system, especially,
they don't have the things that they're used to having
in their lives.
A lot of things are changing.
There's no stability for them.
So it can seem scary.
It hurts.
You feel, in a way, that you've let your children down,
even though you tried everything that you could.
When you see your children like that,
it makes you feel helpless.
So you just have to, as a parent, hold yourself together
and be as brave as you can possibly be for them.
I worked for Girl Scouts of Greater New York
prior to becoming homeless.
My job was to start new troops and recruit new Girl Scouts.
So, when I landed in the shelter, I did what I knew best.
And that was to go back
and ask if I could start a troop there.
I knew first hand how important it was for these girls
to have the Girl Scout experience.
- [Girl Scout] On my honor...
- [Girls In Unison] On my honor...
- [Girl Scout] I will try...
- [Girls In Unison] I will try...
- [Girl Scout] To serve God...
- [Girls In Unison] To serve God...
- [Girl Scout] And my country...
- [Girls In Unison] And my country..
- To help people...
- [Girls In Unison] To help people...
- At all times.
- [Girls In Unison] At all times.
- [Girl Scout] And to live...
- [Girls In Unison] And to live...
- By the Girl Scout Law.
- [Girls In Unison] By the Girl Scout Law.
- Excellent, all right, everyone take a seat.
Thank you so much.
(mellow uplifting music)
- I started Troop 6000 in February of 2017.
From our first troop of 17 girls, including my three,
we've expanded city wide.
We're now at 362 girls.
- [Troop Leader] Is everyone holding someone else's hand?
- [Girls In Unison] Yeah.
- Girls are meeting at their shelters once a week
for an hour and a half.
Same day, same time, every week.
Again, instilling that stability for the girls.
We teach girls robotics to civic engagement,
to building their business with the cookie program.
These girls go back to their parents
at the end of the meetings
very bright eyed and cheerful and letting their parents know
that they've done so much.
And that things are gonna be fine.
Things are gonna get better.
It's important for them to build that sisterly bond,
to know that they're not alone.
(uplifting bright music)
- My name is Sanaa and I'm a member of Troop 6000.
I have been a member since the very first meeting.
Living in the shelter, it was very quiet.
I didn't have people to play with, except for my brothers.
Usually, I would just play with my toys by myself.
When the Girl Scouts came, I was excited,
'cause then finally, I wouldn't have to be bored
all the time.
When I started talking to the girls,
I started to feel like I wasn't alone
and I had people dealing with the same problem.
Two tagalongs, four Thin Mints, and one Trefoil.
Girls can be whoever they want to be,
no matter the problems they have
or the difficulties they're dealing with.
Troop 6000 was designed for girls to stay in it,
no matter if they were in a shelter or not.
Once you're a Girl Scout, you're always a Girl Scout.
- [Giselle] Jalessi, you want chicken, right?
- [Jalessi] Yeah.
- Okay, come sit down Jalessi.
Haley, don't spill it.
Go ahead, Jessi.
- Forever and ever, every night, amen.
- Go ahead, Jay.
- Thank you Jesus, I help you pray.
I help you pray for Jesus and amen.
- Amen.
- [Child] I'm already eating.
- You're already eating?
I know, I'm hungry too.
(uplifting piano music)
After being in a shelter for a year,
we're now living in a home.
It feels great.
But then again, I still can't help but think about
those who are still waiting for their homes.
When I was at my lowest
and felt like I had no one there to support me,
Girl Scouting definitely was there for me.
I wanted to make sure that no other girls
felt the way that my daughters did.
- She taught me how to stand up for myself
and to believe in what I think is right
and to never give up.
- We're giving them a different type of family.
We definitely want to uplift them and
let them know that this moment in their life
doesn't define them.
(uplifting music)
There will be setbacks in life,
whether we expect them or we don't expect them.
It doesn't mean that we're not worth anything,
that we've messed up in life.
I want for my daughters and for the other girls
who are in Girl Scouting
to grow up in a world where the future
is going to be limitless for them.
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