Zachary and his younger brother Brian were cold and in the dark. It was February in the Midwest. Their mother， overwhelmed by financial burdens and alcohol addiction， packed up and left to live in another state. The two boys had no money to pay the rent or the utilities. They were threatened with eviction， the electricity was shut off， and they had no way to heat the house or even cook a meal. Both brothers were attending school. In desperation， they turned to their teachers for help， asking for blankets and food. Their teachers did what they could to help with their immediate needs. Then they called Boys Town， which runs an emergency shelter for youth funded by the Family and Youth Service Bureau.

Boys Town welcomed Zachary and Brian to its nearby short-term residential facility， where they would be safe and warm while staff members worked on finding a more permanent living arrangement. Eventually， a local family took in Brian. But because Zachary had turned 18， it was difficult to find a home for him. With graduation approaching， Zachary had no permanent place to live and no plan for the future. Putting the teen’s well-being and safety first， Boys Town decided to have Zachary remain in their programming while he finished school and continued his extracurricular activities. Boys Town also helped the teen get into a job-training program where he could begin learning a trade.

扎卡里和弟弟布萊恩的母親由于無(wú)法承受巨大的債務(wù)壓力，又無(wú)法擺脫對(duì)酒精的依賴，拋棄了兄弟倆，出走他鄉(xiāng)。兄弟倆無(wú)力支付房租和水電費(fèi)，房東威脅要趕走他們，并掐斷水電暖氣的供應(yīng)，兄弟倆的生活從此陷入黑暗之中。

絕望之中，他們只好向老師求助，老師給了他們毯子和食物，竭盡所能幫助他們，并將他們的情況告知男孩村（一個(gè)由家庭和青年服務(wù)局資助的青年救助中心）。男孩村先將兄弟倆安置到就近的短期住處，又為弟弟布萊恩找到了收養(yǎng)家庭，也對(duì)即將18歲而不符合收養(yǎng)條件的哥哥進(jìn)行了妥善安置，讓他參加了就業(yè)培訓(xùn)。

After graduating high school， Zachary stayed in touch with the Boys Town staff and has come back to visit. He completed his job training and now has a good job with a local business. Zachary stays in close touch with Brian， who is doing well in school and enjoys living with his foster family. With support from the Family and Youth Service Bureau and Boys Town， two brothers found a way out of the darkness.

目前哥哥已經(jīng)在培訓(xùn)機(jī)構(gòu)結(jié)業(yè)，并在當(dāng)?shù)卣业搅艘环莺芎玫墓ぷ鳎艿芤埠褪震B(yǎng)家庭相處融洽，兄弟倆還經(jīng)常保持聯(lián)系。在男孩村的幫助下，倆人終于成功走出了陰霾。