This guest blog is written by Ethan (12 years old), Maia (10 years old), and Tyler (14 years old).
You might ignore the person sleeping on the bench as you enter the public library or the grocery store, but take a moment to stand in their shoes. Imagine if you had no secure access to food and no safe place to sleep at night. When you think about the homeless, you may picture an older person. However, some of the unhoused are young children as well. COVID-19 has also affected the homeless greatly. Fortunately, there are solutions to homelessness that even you can contribute to.
There are thousands of children who do not have shelter. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, in 2019, there were at least 35,000 homeless young people in America. 11 percent of these people were under the age of 18 years old. Not only do unhoused children face the risk of starvation, but they also face educational challenges.
Homelessness affects how well children do in school. They can have a hard time focusing because they are hungry or sleep-deprived. Some kids’ parents are not able to afford a car either. They would have to walk to school, which might cause them to be late. Another issue with youth homelessness is th