Youth Homelessness

This is in part a repeat of a post I wrote much earlier in the year, but I wanted to post it again as the weather gets cold. Its 58 degrees in my house as I write this...and it is cold enough. I hate even the thought of youth homelessness. The larger words are today's.
I get stuck on things sometimes. The brain just refuses to let go. This is one of those times.
How did I get there? It probably has something to do with the fact that we are really cold at my house some days. There are times when the temperature hovers in the mid forties. I tend to operate from the "it could always be worse" perspective. I like to think of it as chilly, not cold. We survive. We do have some heat, and we can get a few rooms alot warmer. We have heated mattress pads that wake me in a full sweat in the middle of the night when I forget to lower the temp. It isn't so bad.
I began to think of others who endure much colder weather. It isn't much of a leap. I work with kids daily. So runs the movie in my brain.
Homeless youth. If those two words don't make you cry, read them again. Homeless youth. Homeless youth.
There are an estimated 2 million homeless young people in America. 2 million. If you have a hard time visualizing that number, try this: the seating capacity at FedEx stadium is 91, 655. Nearly 22 stadiums filled to capacity, not with Redskins fans, but with our sons and daughters. It is unimaginable.
Unfathomable. Insane.
Eight homeless young people burned in a fire over the holidays in an abandoned warehouse in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. If it made national news, I certainly missed it. Burned beyond recognition, beyond even the identification of gender. If you don't believe it, google it.
I want to do something about homelessness. I want everyone to do something to end homelessness for our nation's youth. If a mosque and a synagogue can work together in Toronto to be part of a solution for homeless Canadian youth, can we not do the same?
Yes, there are organizations who are leading the way. Check out Dry Bones in Denver, and StandUp for Kids across the country. But, in these terrible, harrowing economic times that are putting families and kids on the streets daily, funding to support outreach also drys up. Staffed centers vanish.
2 million homeless youth. 2 million. Homeless Youth.
It isn't right.
Those homeless kids are not nameless. They are not faceless. They are part of Our family.
Peace and Love, K

I checked into Seton Youth Shelters in VA Beach today while doing some research on how to designate my charitable contribution with the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign.  They've had amazing impact. What follows is a brief follow-up to my email.

Last year 31,766 youth were served through our two shelters, street outreach, mentoring and school based counseling programs!
Our two shelters provide a safe environment with intensive counseling for runaway and homeless youth ages 12 to 18 – 4,500 Days of shelter & counseling.
Street Outreach – 28,296 contacts with youth were provided via our mobile van and our drop-in center.
Mentors were matched with 103 children of prisoners – the average match is lasting 18 months and many have been sustained for more than 3 years.

StandUp for Kids-Hampton Roads Chapter is also doing some great work and is keeping the Crow's Nest at Seton Shelter open on Saturday nights for drop-ins in need of some pretty basic living supplies. StandUp Hampton Roads is all volunteer with no paid staff. If you could help out with donations, visit them on facebook.

Avalon in Williamsburg is also providing support to youth. They're also on fb, so check them out if you can.  Noah and I are participating next weekend in the One Night Without a Home event and will be sleeping in a box alongside a bunch of other caring box sleepers to both learn about and draw attention to this issue...which really should rock all of us to the core.

Peace and Love, K.