By AJ Cross
Homelessness is one of the most overlooked tragedies of the American culture. How is it possible that we have actually become so used to seeing another human being broken, destitute, dirty and starving and not give a second thought to how they ended up that way, and worse, not care?
Even those of us with a heart and compassion can’t help but to assume that any money we would give to a homeless person would be used for alcohol or drugs, so we talk ourselves out of doing so. We assume that they have a choice and that either through laziness or poor life choices a homeless person is in the situation they are. That may be the case for so many of the adults on the streets, but what of the children? According to national statistics, 49,886 homeless children are in Florida, representing 6% of all children within the poverty sector of our communities. Most of these children are without parents or relatives able or willing to help.
That is roughly 50,000 innocent and beautiful children doing incredible things simply to fill their stomachs and find shelter at night. Of that number, 30% have turned to prostitution to make it through to the next day, sometimes selling their bodies for a Happy Meal. 15,000 kids, mostly under the age of 16, find their way into public parks, beaches, YMCA, or seek shelter in abandoned alleys or buildings.
Even reputable charitable organizations such as Covenant House are not equipped to manage this epidemic. The perverted and deviant of our society prey upon these children and take advantage of the fact that they have no alternative but to accept their solicitations for money or food. While law enforcement is policing the internet to protect our children at home from such people, there is no protection for those children on the streets.
I decided to write about this tragedy for many reasons, one of which is having first-hand experience in the matter. I was once a homeless youth. Many of you may be shocked to learn that from the ages of thirteen to sixteen, I was homeless.
It is not something I have shared with many people — only those close to me have been privy to that information. Sometimes, however, in order to be impactful we must be vulnerable and expose aspects of our past to impress upon others that we are not simply making assumptions about certain subject matter. I have known hunger and fear and uncertainty. I have encountered many of the older men in suits during their business lunch hour who did not think twice about buying me food or giving me money to fulfill their twisted fantasies.
I did not chose being homeless, but was a victim of circumstance: A mother who died of a drug overdose; unknown father; dysfunctional and under budget Youth and Family Services Department and a disinterested society all played a part.
For many years, I survived by breaking into churches and eating what I thought was crackers and drinking what I thought was grape juice. It was not until many years later when I learned that I was eating the Eucharist and “blood of Christ,” according to some religions, which for so many years unknowingly supported my life on the streets. I stole money from the donation boxes for food, as well. As an adult looking back, there are definitely some feelings of guilt, but I have always reconciled that with the fact that I was simply surviving.
To have gotten to where I am in my life and never have fallen into drugs, crime or alcohol is the greatest blessing in my life, but that is not the case with so many abandoned youth in our society.
I share that intimate detail of my life not out of a need of empathic concern, but because there were people in my life who stopped and really looked at me and recognized that it was their humanly duty and obligation to reach our their hand and help me. For those kindnesses, I will be eternally grateful. I ask that, before you discount a homeless child as pathetic or deserving of their circumstance, you look into their eyes and ask yourself if, by helping them, could you be doing more than just feeding their stomach, but saving their life?
