Thursday, May 7, 2009

What Happens to the Kids When a Family Becomes Homeless? Part 1

My mother saw a news story the other day about a family that was about to lose their home. What stuck with her was how stressed the children were. The child being interviewed was worried about her mom and dad and scared because she didn't know what would happen to her family.

The 120+ children who will make their home at Community LINC this year went through that and then some. The child in the interview worried what would happen to her. It did happen to our kids.

So what is it like for the children when the family becomes homeless?

They will probably live in several places. In some cases, the family will separate or even dissolve.

First, they may “double up” and live with relatives. When the relatives get tired of having them, they may start sleeping in their cars or at campgrounds. Their parents may send them to stay with relatives to avoid shelter life. If the family is large, they will have to split up. Most emergency shelters can only handle families with a couple of kids. Once they go to a shelter, they have to adjust to an overcrowded, uncomfortable setting with no privacy.

Homeless children endure a constant barrage of stressful and traumatic experiences that have a profound effect on their development and ability to learn. They get sick more often than other children. Violence plays a bigger part in their lives.

But it gets better. The children at Community LINC are lucky relative to other homeless kids. They have a safe, stable place to stay while their parents get on their feet. They find friends and a group of adults who care about them. They get the support to catch up academically and they learn the lifeskills they need to succeed in school and eventually at work. They come to believe that they can have a better life.

In the words of some of our children:

A teenage boy: “Two years with Community LINC helped get my mother, little brother and I back on our feet and a second chance in Kansas City. While opening doors to a better life, Community LINC helped with my driver’s ed. class and my true dream career. I’m now in my last year of school, graduating as one of the top in my class. I still have my family. I work at my job of three years as a waiter and am now working towards getting a car and looking for money for college.”

Another teenager: “I am going to be a person who fights for what’s right. I am a person who believes in the law. If you have not guessed, I plan to be a lawyer.”

A girl in grade school: “Before we came to Community LINC, I struggled because I saw my mom crying because we did not have anywhere to go. I have a better life, a great life because of this program. In five years, I will be in school, a home and (will be) thinking about my past. I will live great. I (will) work all over the world.”

A boy in grade school: “Before I came to Community LINC I lived with my dad and my struggles. I didn’t have anywhere to live. Now, I am a person getting stronger and I am working on making myself better."

- Laura Gray

No comments:

Post a Comment