When I initially began to respond to this thread, I went looking for statistics on the homeless; then I realized that, no matter what source I used, what the statistics said, someone will always be able to find a different set of statistics... so I decided, instead, to tell you some stories about homeless children I know.
Travis is 12 years old; he is in 7th grade. He is homeless - not because his parents are shiftless deadbeats, but because while his mother works full-time, his father has cancer, and has spent the last several years in treatment, never in remission long enough to get a job. All of their money goes to his treatment; there is none left over for housing. Because Travis is still in school, special programs are available to Travis and his family; they currently live in a run down motel, all 3 of them in one room, with a microwave from a thrift store, a dorm-size refrigerator, and a 2-burner hot plate as their kitchen. Periodically, the motel they live in decides they no longer want semi-permanent residents, and Travis and his family move to a different motel. Since his father got sick several years ago, the longest Travis has lived in one place is 7 months. All of their belongs must fit in their one working vehicle, as they never know when a motel will tell them to move. At this point in time, Travis lives outside our district; however, as his last permanent address was in our attendance area (when he was in 4th grade), he is allowed to continue to attend school in our building.
In addition to dealing with his family's homelessness, Travis must deal with his father's on-going illness. His mother works as many hours as she can, so that they can pay for something - anything - besides his father's medical bills. His father is often ill and unable to do much but lay there - but he has to get up to take Travis to and from school; given that Travis lives outside our attendance area, there is no school bus that goes to his home.
Still, Travis is one of the lucky ones - his parents asked the school for help when they were first evicted, and were given the information they needed to access the programs that help Travis to stay in school. He has a place to live, a place with power and running water, a place he can consider, however temporarily, home. Other students in my school are not so lucky.
Several years ago, I had another homeless student. His name was Daniel. Daniel lived with his grandmother until she was evicted when he was in 6th grade - so rather than be on the streets with an 11 year-old, Daniel's grandmother sent him to live with an aunt in another state. That lasted until February of the next year, when then aunt began to experience financial problems of her own and sent him back to his grandmother. She found a place to live (sort of) in a friend's garage. There was no heat except a space heater (and this is Colorado, remember); they had no phone, although the friend who owned the garage would take messages. The friend also let them use the bathroom and kitchen. Still, they lived in a garage, and that's where they stayed most of the time; except for the bathroom and kitchen, they weren't really welcome in the friend's house, because his family needed the room.
And yet another child - David. David's mother lost her job in a massive lay-off, and had no savings. David and his mother ended up living in her car - their only belongings those that would fit in the car. His mother didn't want anyone to know - but it became apparent fairly quickly that David wasn't bathing. His mother refused aid from any of the resources the school referred her to, but did allow David to come to school early so he could shower in the locker room, and wash his clothes in the Home Economics room. Generally, his only meals were the breakfast and lunch provided by the school; it's impossible to cook in a car, and while fast food is cheap, it's not cheap if you have to eat it several meals a day.
And yet another - one of my TKD students (former, at the moment - although every so often he comes back). Josh has a psychiatric diagnosis, including paranoia and an anxiety disorder. Josh is 14 years old. He has been placed in residential treatment facilities for juvenile psychiatric patients more times than he can remember - but puberty is playing havoc with his medications, and every so often his life overwhelms him, and he runs away from home. His mother reports him missing, leaves the doors unlocked, notifies the family, and prays. Eventually, he gets tired of being homeless (last time, he lived under a bridge underpass in downtown Denver, for a couple of weeks, until he got hungry enough to call his uncle), and he finds a way to get home. But while he's out, he is as homeless as the rest - and yes, he is emotionally disabled, due to hormonal imbalances in his brain - but he's not violent, and he doesn't steal; in fact, the most common event that causes him to come home is some other homeless teen beating him up for his food, his shoes, his cardboard box.
These are the homeless people I know. They are not criminals; they are not deadbeats; they are not alcoholics; they are not drug addicts. They are people who have met with misfortune in their lives, and have yet to find a way to rise above it. They are people who do not have the support system than many of us take for granted, who have nothing to fall back on when things go wrong. They are the face of homelessness as much - in many ways more than - the stereotypical street person, panhandling down the street in filthy clothes, carrying an open bottle in a crumpled paper bag. They are ordinary, everyday people who have less good luck than the rest of us. They are not groups, they are not stereotypes - they are people, and they deserve our compassion, our assistance, and our help - not condemnation.
Certainly, some homeless people do fit the stereotype referenced in the article - but attempting to force all people into the stereotype of "homeless" is like trying to fit all members of an ethnic and/or racial group into the stereotype of that group. It is meaningless, and it is prejudicial - and it often prevents the majority, who are not representative of the stereotype, from receiving assistance from society, because they are lumped in with the minority that does fit the stereotype, and similarly, thrown away by those who do not look beyond the stereotype.
:lol:. I wasn't being serious with that post people :asian:!
