What they wrote

As I look across our classroom, I see all of the faces of my classmates hard at work. They are laughing and talking about what happened over our three-day weekend as they work to depict how we can make people more aware of how kids become homeless. I don't know if any of them really know how kids do become homeless. We attend a Catholic school, and although a few of my classmates have lost a parent and some kids' houses have been in fires, they all had someone or somewhere to turn to. Homeless kids don't have that advantage of always having somewhere or someone to go to and that is why they need our help.

How can we help these kids?

One very importanat way we can help homeless kids is by making people AWARE of how kids become homeless. This can be accomplished as easily as holding a community meeting that can inform people on how they can help homeless children. We have the resources to do this. We just need the people on the community council to make it happen.

If you didn't know this, how many more people do you think don't know this either? This is a problem that we can fix.

How do kids become homeless?

There are many ways. Some of them are:

• Natural disasters
• Child abuse
• Children running away
• Eviction
• Death
• Parents that just can't support their kids
• Financial hardship

Sometimes it isn't the kids' fault that they are homeless. Sometimes it is the parents' fault. If they are unable to pay their house payments then they may be evicted. If the parents can't pay the bills because they lose their job, then that is one issue. If they can't pay the bills because they are spending the money on something that they shouldn't be such as drugs and alcohol, then those kids need to be placed in a different home until their parents are able to take care of them.

Children sometimes become homeless because they are plagued by natural disasters or a death in the family. If their sole caregiver dies then the kids must either be placed in another home or they might become homeless. Children may also become homeless when their home is hit by a natural disaster. Two examples of how kids became homeless due to a natural disaster are Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005 and the tornados that hit Alabama in the spring of 2007. There is no way we can stop these things from happening, but we can help the children once something like this happens.

How can I help homeless children if I'm just a kid myself?

No one ever said that kids can't do something to help others like grownups can. Us kids can do just as much as the grownups. We just need some extra help doing it.

Some ways we can help homeless children are:

• Giving our old toys and clothes we outgrew to a homeless shelter
• Giving our spare change to a homeless shelter
• Visiting a homeless shelter and talking with some of the kids there
• Not making faces at homeless kids we see, especially on the street
• Just understanding that even though they are homeless they are still kids just like us

We need to make grown ups and other people of the community aware of how kids become homeless. One easy way we can do that is simply by telling anyone that we see about how kids become homeless. If every kid in my grade could tell five different people how children become homeless then that would mean that my grade alone told 170 different people about how kids become homeless.

Think about what would happen if the entire school did that! All we need to do to make people more aware of how children become homeless is to talk about it.

As I look at the posters stacked on the table in the back of the room I see that my classmates have done a good job of showing how we can make people more aware of how children become homeless. I hope that I have done a good job telling you. Remember, God wants people to help one another and that means we should help the homeless too.

Children are mostly homeless because of the parents. Many families don't have money for the right clothes or food. There are a multitude of reasons why children become homeless: loss of employment, divorce, and long-term illness of the parents. Other reasons which could lead to the homelessness of the children include: domestic violence (physical abuse); substance abuse by the parents; mental illneses of the guardian

We – as concerned Catholics – can help fight this by donating to the many charities or missions. We can also highlight the plight of homeless children by championing the cause in the media by means of newspaper or the news. Also, we could go to the many shelters and help there or simply just spend some time with them to show we care.

The others that aren't affected by the family's financial problems are runaways. They run because their parents physically or sexually abuse them. They get tired of being abused and run to get away from them. Some try calling out to the other parent for help, but in sad reality, the other parent doesn't believe them. They try to get help from other relatives but they can't do anything about it even though they do believe them. The end result is that they run away from the parents and go somewhere the parents can't find them. A shelter or on the streets is where they are living because of the fear that the parents instill into them.

Though there are many ways to help, only a few work. Those people that do help should be considered angels on Earth.

Excerpts from selected essays receiving honorable mention

Homelessness is a problem in every part of our country. The image of the homeless is mostly that of men and sometimes women who have fallen on hard times. Very often, the forgotten homeless are the young children. . . .

The children are the victims of the things that are happening around them. They can't go out and earn money to help the famlly, and they often can't go to school because they have no clothes or other things that children need for school.

Unless the family seeks help from government agencies, the cycle of homelessness continues and the children continue to suffer.

As members of the community, we have to be aware of what is going on around us. We have to know if our neighbors have fallen on hard times. Reaching out as a community and providing shelter is one of the ways we can combat homelessness.

Community education regarding homelessneess and the effect it has on the young is very important. Being without a safe place to live is extremely stressful on children. They lose their sense of safety and begin to feel that they don't belong anywhere. This feeling keeps them from trusting and growing into well-rounded people.

Our job as a community is to be willing to help those who need our help and not turn away because it is the easier thing to do.

The girl had never really thought much about homelessness. She lived in a nice house, was served dinner every night, and went to school every day (not that she especially appreciated that "blessing," but it was true). So how could she know what it was like to live on the street and depend on soup kitches for food and the quarters people tossed into a hat for money? Not that she was a bad kid. She just didn't know.

The day she started to find out was a Friday. She was in English class, the last period of the day, and she was only half listening when her teacher tossed out an assignment that was due on Monday. "I want you to come up with a way that we can tell other people about homelessness . . ." The girl scribbled down the homework in her notebook, and when the bell rang she leapt to her feet with the rest of the class and ran to grab her things. She didn't even think about the assignment all day.

Sunday afternoon came, and the girl was on the computer, checking out some of her favorite websites, when she suddenly remembered the assignment she should be doing. . . . She thought she should at least start it now, so she pulled up a search engine and typed in "homelessness." At least 100 websites popped up, so she narrowed her search to just the homeless in her county . . . .

The girl was amazed at what she saw. There were lists of the number of men, women and children that were living on the streets now. So many she couldn't imagine where they lived or how they managed to survive. She looked to the bottom of the page, where the total number of homeless people was listed, and copied the figure down in her notebook. She still didn't have an idea for how to tell people about this though. Go up to them and show them her notebook? Stand holding up a sign in the middle of the parkway. There had to be a better way.

That night, the girl was checking her email before she seriously got to work on the homework. Her best friend had obviously been on her computer today too. There were tons of emails from her, most of the the kind that have been forwarded so many times that everyone has forgotten the original sender. The girl was about to forward it to some friends when she froze. Of course! If other people could start chain letters like this, why couldn't she? The girl opened up a new message and typed in the number from her notebook as the subject. She typed in the email addresses of everyone she knew, and as the message she simply wrote the number again, followed by: "This is the number of people who are homeless in our county. One of them could have been you. Pass it on."

The girl didn't pause before hitting SEND. . . .

When we think of homeless people we usually think of adults. The sad reality is that many of the homeless adults have children. . . .

It is really hard for most people to think of children as being homeless. We must remember that these children and their parents are people just like us who for one reason or another have lost their home and often all of their possessions. It is up to the community to help these children out. . . .

One way of making people aware that children can be homeless is by putting pictures of families on posters to hang up when schools or churches are doing food and clothing drives. A picture is worth a thousand words. When people look at a picture of a family stating that they are homeless it will really make them think . . . . It will encourage people to offer as much help as they can.

Imagine coming home one day expecting to be greeted by fresh food, a change of clothes, and other luxuries that you are accustomed to, but instead finding strangers wandering through your house and comparing prices of all your belongings. You go to your parents and ask what's going on and find that unless you sell everything, including your house, you may end up with no money to provide anything for the family. You never thought that your family was going through any type of financial problems, but your parents' fears are now becoming a reality. There aren't any close relatives or friends that live by you. Where are you going to live? . . . How are you going to get through this? So many questions running through your head and the only answer you can think of is one word: HELP!

People might not realize it, but situations like this are happening every day. . . . We cannot pretend that it's not happening to people around our neighborhoods, because the proof is right in front of us. Please don't ignore the fact that families just like yours are suffering from a deadly disease that is spreading rapidly. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want people to walk by realizing that you have nothing and are desperate for any kind of help that you could get, but instead they walk past as if they didn't even see you were there? Don't let this tragedy continue any longer. It doesn't take much to get involved, only time. A single voice can be heard throughout the world. Stop the growth of poverty and make a difference!

. . . Some people look at the homeless and say in their head, "that person is a blob" or "he needs to take a shower," and people shouldn't say that. They could become homeless too. The homeless are not homeless because they want to. There's always a reason. For example some people lose their money, alot lose their jobs, and some lose their homes. Some people think that because they have all the money in the world they can't become homeless, but they shouldn't think that. People become homeless every day. . . .

. . . We can do so many things to let people know how kids become homeless and what we can do to help them and their families.

First, we could design a website on the Internet that is similar to weather sites. For example MSN.com will have a link to "homelessinyourarea.com" where users type in their zip code and find out how many homeless there are in their area and how to help them. This is one way we can inform the public of this problem.

Second, we could create a documentary for television. The show will depict three true cases of kids who are homeless. It will tell how it happened, the current situation, and hopes for the future. The show will have dynamic speakers during the commercial breaks. The speakers will encourage people to donate money to help the homeless in their area. The documentary will also contain a cartoon segment. The cartoon will let young children know about the homeless children and ways they might be able to help.

. . . So how do we increase awareness of the homeless in our community, many of whom are invisible to us as we go through our daily lives? In our lovely city most of us carry through our busy day without a care for the homeless. Our city's govenment is supposed to solve problems, represent us, address our problems and govern us. Writing lettes to the city council members stating our concerns about problems such as the homeless SHOULD catch their attention but sometimes it doesn't. The old saying goes "there is power in numbers" so students could go door-to-door and inform the citizens of the homeless crisis in the county and ask them to sign a petition. The petition would urge the council members to solve the problem. Students could gather enough signatures to show city council that many of the people that elected them are worried about the issue and wish for it to be solved.

To produce a petition that numerous we're going to need more than one person helping inform the citizens about the homeless. To recruit more allies in our battle against homelessness put up flyers and send phone messages to people in our school or workplace. At meetings or gatherings bring up the topic to be discussed. If we're at school suggest a homeless fundraiser to your student council. To raise awareness of homelessness write and submit an editorial or letter to the editor of our local newspaper. Include in it facts, who is homeless, and what can be done about the issue to decrease the numbers. Ask our teacher or adviser to organize an assembly to discuss homelessness and what can be done to prevent it.

. . . It could be the goal of the Health Community Committee of the St. Bede Student Council to help promote awareness and understanding of the scope and magnitude of the homeless situation in Allegheny County. The Student Council could sign up interested St. Bede students to help serve meals at Miriam's House, a women's shelter where our parish provides a meal to homeless women one night per month. The students who volunteer there could then discuss their experience and impressions during religion classes with their classmates.

. . . More peole than we think are in poverty or are homeless, or even both! We need to assist these people, because they are God's creation, too. How would you like it if you were living in an alley and people walked by, fast, to avoid you. As they walk away, with a disgusted look on their face, you are only thinking, "Why, why would they avoid me and think that I am less significant than they?" Unfortunately, this is the sad, sad truth. Just because they are homeless, poor, and dirty does not mean God made them just to be ridiculed by those more fortunate than themselves. Who knows? Maybe God intended humans to live like that, not live a life of luxury. But, somewhere along the line humans found a loophole, (at least most humans) and became rich and pampered. People even ridicule the retarded and mentally challenged, as though they don't matter. Bottom line, all human beings are the same, maybe not in social standards, but in God's eyes, which are the most important.

Are you the kind of person who will read this and won't do anything because you think there will already be enough people to help, or because your friends say it's not cool, or, the most popular, you're scared? For your information, there can never be too many people helping. In fact, the more people, the better. Who cares if your friends think you're a dork for helping? If they do, they're obviously not a real friend. The people you help will think you're a really nice and cool person. Don't think you're a bad person if you're scared. It can be expected, but don't worry. Once you get to know the person you help you'll see they're just a regular person, whether you even like them or not. So you have two options, the right one that God would want or the bad, selfish one, just act like the homeless are invisible and do nothing. The right one would be to be brave, be mature, and help. Trust me, you'll feel better and be better, and to someone, however old, young, far away, or close, you'll be a HERO!

Well, why are you still reading this essay? . . . Don't just stand here, go help!! There are over 2,000 homeless children in Allegheny County awaiting help. Do NOT just help one time and think, "I did my part, someone eles's turn!" That's wrong. What do you think would happen if everybody only helped one time? . . . Just remember, every little thing helps, and the church teaches us to give, spiritually and physically. When it gets hard, just remember three words, "Never give up." . . . I don't know about you, but I am ready to help. There are about 100 million homeless people in the world. If you ask me, that's 100 million too many.

. . . I believe that more than anything, these children [who are homeless] need your prayers. Here is one prayer that incorporates everything that we take for granted that homeless children are not fortunate enough to enjoy: "When [I] have a warm bed, remember the homeless. When [I] have something to eat, remember the hungry. When [I] have work, remember the jobless. When [I] have no pain, remember those who suffer. And in remembering [we] break this complacency and bestir in us compassion to help support those who cry out for what we take for granted."

It is a myth that all homeless people are lazy. This is not true. Usually they find themselves in a desperate situation. Illness and unemployment seem to be leading causes of why people go homeless.

Sometime people do get in trouble with the law or drugs and this also causes homelessness. If people come from poor families and live in poor situations that they cannot get out of they sometimes use illegal drugs and get drug habits that ruin their lives.

Sometimes lack of skills and education lead to homelessness. Students don't do well in school, hate school or have to work to help their families and they never graduate from high school. This can lead to homelessness because they can't find jobs to pay for housing, even cheap housing.

Teenagers can become homeless when they get in a fight with their parents and run away from home. Some teenagers stay on the street instead of making up with their mom and dad. This can lead to big problems, including homelessness.

Children sometimes have a dad who ends up in jail. The mom then has no support. This can lead to homelessness with her children.

. . . The issue of homelessness is a complicated one, filled with debate on which are the appropriate measures to take. And since there are so many reasons why people are homeless we should learn to address the individual's problems and apply the appropriate resources. If the issue is being unable to maintain your family financially then some supplemental assistance is required. If the issue is mental illness or addiction then treatment is what needs to be considered. Again there is no set way that you can handle everyone's problems. It is important to treat the problems of the individuals not to treat the individuals as the problem. The stigma of being homeless is not an easy one to bear and yet anyone could someday be destitute and homeless.

We as Christians should try our best to be compassionate to the plight of all people in poverty and in particular children. It is the children who have no power over their circumstances that suffer the most. . . .

. . . We could have a symbol that people could recognize for the homeless campaign. We could have people wear the pins with the symbol on it to spread the word that these homeless people need our help. The symbol could be a smiley face on a pin that says, "We can help!!"

We could also have a famous person appointed to represent the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Association. We could create a commercial using this famous person expressing the needs that these children have.

. . . Finally, we could have different schools have their children perform plays or musicals dedicated to this association. This would tell the children's parents or guardians about the homeless children and make everyone more aware.

. . . Here are some ways to make more of the world's population aware of this tragedy [of homelessness]. . . .

• create a club or organization that helps raise awareness . . .
• ask your principal to create an awareness month and for the whole month chosen students will travel around and help raise awareness in several different ways
• create a chain e-mail
• try to reach the mayor so that maybe he can bring the issue to an even larger population and maybe create an awareness day for Pittsburgh that may be successful to the point that it becomes an awareness day for the entire world . . . .

. . . Fundraisers are a way of making a big group of people aware of the homeless. Having celebrities host the event would give more exposure. The money for admission could be donated to the homeless. A bag of food could also be considered as a ticket into the fundraiser.

A walk for the homeless could make people aware of the homeless. The walkers could wear t-shirts that would say something like "Help the Homeless." The shirts could make people award. The walkers could collect pledges for the homeless.

Making people aware of the homeless is important in order to get people to help. . . .

12/18/07