I've
been wanting to post this on the blog for awhile. I've posted it on
Facebook but I don't get to explain why I love it so much on
Facebook. I know my friends love making fun of me for my uncanny
obsession with Dance Moms but I love this dance so much because I
think it is a very good representation of what it feels like to live
on the streets as a kid. We are trapped.
I know I should be busying myself with looking for a job or buffering up my resume but I, like many of the other kids, have a feeling of why bother. We have to lie on our addresses on job applications because the addresses we can use through the shelter are black listed. We can't just go out and pass out resumes: no one will hire you when you can't come in in nice clothes and you have to carry everything you own with you. I've lost touch with most of my business references. A lot of kids don't even have their GED.
We are trapped in a world where we aren't even seen as people. Where police are called to harass us just because it's fun for people in $1600 apartments to watch from their windows while street kids are searched.
As a kid I could watch fictional shows about murder and terrorism (ie: family obsession with 24). I didn't blink an eye at "America's Most Wanted" but I would cry anytime my parents put on "Cops". No one ever really knew why. After watching the cops search us just for sitting at the fountain I understand now why "Cops" upset me so much. I hate the whole idea of the show. I hate that the less desirable people in society can have their weakest and most vulnerable moments broadcast-ed to millions of people simply for entertainment. To make people who have homes laugh.
Why bother trying to get or stay clean? Why bother trying to get back into school? Why bother trying to get a job? Why bother trying? We aren't even seen as human beings. Our very existence is illegal. We're trapped and the only thing that stands a chance at helping us is compassion from our fellow human beings when they are too busy being entertained by us to help us.
--mm
Here's the truth about street kids:
*We are forced to be independent on average about a decade before our housed peers.
*There are up to 2,000 of us in Portland alone.
*12-17 year-olds are more at risk for homelessness than adults
*43% of us report being beaten by a parent or caregiver before we became homeless.
*44% of us report having a parent with a drug or alcohol problem.
*20,000 of us age out of foster care each year.
*75% of us will or have dropped out of school because of homelessness.
*Our substance use rates are at 85%.
*1/3 of us have witnessed a shooting, stabbing, or rape.
*1/4 homeless adults were in foster care as a child.
*40% identify as LGBT youth
*1/3 of homeless people are under 18.
*Half of all runaways are abused before they flee their homes.
*A third have been forced to perform sexual acts.
*A third will attempt suicide.
*We are ten times more likely to contract HIV.
*People hate us simply because of where we sleep.
http://www.myfriendsplace.org/whoweservestats.html
http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-homeless-youth
outsidein.org
I know I should be busying myself with looking for a job or buffering up my resume but I, like many of the other kids, have a feeling of why bother. We have to lie on our addresses on job applications because the addresses we can use through the shelter are black listed. We can't just go out and pass out resumes: no one will hire you when you can't come in in nice clothes and you have to carry everything you own with you. I've lost touch with most of my business references. A lot of kids don't even have their GED.
We are trapped in a world where we aren't even seen as people. Where police are called to harass us just because it's fun for people in $1600 apartments to watch from their windows while street kids are searched.
As a kid I could watch fictional shows about murder and terrorism (ie: family obsession with 24). I didn't blink an eye at "America's Most Wanted" but I would cry anytime my parents put on "Cops". No one ever really knew why. After watching the cops search us just for sitting at the fountain I understand now why "Cops" upset me so much. I hate the whole idea of the show. I hate that the less desirable people in society can have their weakest and most vulnerable moments broadcast-ed to millions of people simply for entertainment. To make people who have homes laugh.
Why bother trying to get or stay clean? Why bother trying to get back into school? Why bother trying to get a job? Why bother trying? We aren't even seen as human beings. Our very existence is illegal. We're trapped and the only thing that stands a chance at helping us is compassion from our fellow human beings when they are too busy being entertained by us to help us.
--mm
Here's the truth about street kids:
*We are forced to be independent on average about a decade before our housed peers.
*There are up to 2,000 of us in Portland alone.
*12-17 year-olds are more at risk for homelessness than adults
*43% of us report being beaten by a parent or caregiver before we became homeless.
*44% of us report having a parent with a drug or alcohol problem.
*20,000 of us age out of foster care each year.
*75% of us will or have dropped out of school because of homelessness.
*Our substance use rates are at 85%.
*1/3 of us have witnessed a shooting, stabbing, or rape.
*1/4 homeless adults were in foster care as a child.
*40% identify as LGBT youth
*1/3 of homeless people are under 18.
*Half of all runaways are abused before they flee their homes.
*A third have been forced to perform sexual acts.
*A third will attempt suicide.
*We are ten times more likely to contract HIV.
*People hate us simply because of where we sleep.
http://www.myfriendsplace.org/whoweservestats.html
http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-homeless-youth
outsidein.org
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