HUMANITY MAG WINTER 2017 EDITION REV 12.11.17

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H U M A N I T Y M A G A Z I N E Covenant House Imagine walking in the footsteps of a kid who has run away from home to escape years of physical abuse, a dangerous human trafficking network, the chaos of life with a drug-addicted parent, or a house overflowing with rage. The Crisis of Youth Homelessness One out of every 45 children – some 1.6 million – in the United States is homeless, according to a report released by the National Center on Family Homelessness. The majority of the children are under age 7. The number of homeless children in 2010 exceeded even the total in 2006, when thousands of families displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita produced a historic spike in homelessness. Last year, at least 60,000 more children were homeless. Youth Homelessness 1.2 Million. This is the number of homeless and runaway youth that Covenant House has helped with food, shelter, warmth, and love since opening its doors more than 35 years ago. The needs are greater than ever, though, as each year more than 2 million kids in America will face a period of homelessness. What Would You Do to Survive Homelessness? Would you climb into a dirty dumpster filled with trash, because at least inside a dumpster you would be shielded from the wind and covered from the cold? Would you find your way into a dark and abandoned building, huddle under newspapers, and try to ignore the rats scrambling on the floor around your feet? Would you escape underground to the subway and lie on the dirty floor, praying that no one will kick you or hurt you while you sleep? If you were a homeless kid, you might do any or all those things ... you might not have a choice. Every day, Covenant House gives shelter to homeless kids and responds to their most Last year alone, more than 55,000 homeless kids got help in Covenant House programs. Youth homelessness robs our communities of the potential talent and energy of these young people. They are our future, and they need our support. Covenant House is committed to providing a place of shelter and support for every homeless kid who passes through our doors. How Human Trafficking and Child Slavery Hurt Homeless Kids There is a grave misconception in this country that human trafficking is a trend relegated to foreign soil. But the painful truth is that human trafficking – one of the world's fastest-growing criminal industries – is a monstrous issue in this country. In fact, 85% of confirmed sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens, mostly runaway children. Often disconnected from family and friends, homeless kids are particularly susceptible to traffickers who will lure them with the promise of food, warmth, and even false love. Once snatched from the streets without anyone noticing, they are sold for the highest price, their dignity and sense of self destroyed. Covenant House receives many of these young people after they've found the courage to escape capture, have been freed by police raids, or have made contact with Covenant House outreach staff combing the streets day and night looking for kids in need and at risk. We must ignite, state by state, a movement by schools, civic groups, police, social service agencies, and child advocates LIKE YOU to speak out for those who have been victims, work together to raise awareness of the crisis, and empower our government to protect America's children. A Voice for the Homeless www.HumanityMag.org 7
H U M A N I T Y M A G A Z I N E To learn more about how Covenant House is helping to confront youth homelessness, visit their website at www.CovenantHouse.org. If you are a youth needing help call 1-888-786-2929. TRUE STORY: I WAS HOMELESS This is one of many True Story interviews in which we talk to people who have experienced interesting/amazing/ challenging things. This is the story of Salena and her time being homeless. Tell us a bit about yourself! I’m 19 and I grew up in California. I wouldn’t call myself an artist, but I love to draw; mostly anime and comics. Recently I’ve started doing commissions which is a very big accomplishment for me! I love creating and discovering, storytelling and adventure. Currently I’m enrolled in college, finally completing my first semester in the spring after 3 or 4 tries. I hope to transfer to university after getting an AA in Arts to study Japanese and English. What was your life like growing up? My mother worked hard to raise me on her own. We moved to California when I was 6; soon after that we moved into the house I’d call a home for 11 years. She had a boyfriend for a time, whom I hated with a 5th grader passion. My mom worked a lot, more than she was supposed to even, to make sure things stayed normal. She made sure to do something with me every Friday after she came home from work; she bought me books when I ran out of things to read, drew Disney characters so I could color them. I realize now that she’s the World’s Greatest Mom. I was lucky. Can you tell us about the factors that led to you being homeless? My mom has been on social security since a few car accidents in her 20’s. Things started changing for the worse in her 40’s. I was in junior high when she lost her job. Her boyfriend had been saying that he would help pay for the bills [he was living with us] but never gave up the cash. Fast forward to losing her job, now on top of that she’s in quite a bit of debt towards the house she owned and maintained for 11 years. And social security decided to stop giving my mother benefits! According to the law, a person on state benefits is allowed to work part-time as long as they make under a certain amount of money every month. One month, Mom got a 25 cent raise, resulting in about $100 extra income at the end of the month. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, especially now that I know how long $100 lasts for two people, but social security deemed it enough to stop her benefits. Of course, they were taken to court, however, this time she didn’t win. Now, on top of the job loss, social security also claimed that both my mother and I (she was receiving benefits because of me) owed back all the money paid out to us between the time they notified mom of her termination and the final court hearing. By this time I’d starting my first year of high school. We managed okay for a couple of months off workers’ compensation, but one day I came home from school and our old real estate agent was sitting at the table with mom. Before I knew it, the house is sold, we’d packed everything A Voice for the Homeless www.HumanityMag.org 8
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HUMANITY MAG WINTER 2017 EDITION REV 12.11.17

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