In the dark of the night...

 

 

"What many don't realize is this. Youth homelessness has gone from a trickle to a flood in communities which believe they are immune..."

Josh left the drop-in center and got into his 1998 Mazda. Under his breath, in the unrelenting cold, he said a familiar and silent prayer. "Please Lord, just one more time for Betsy." He heard the cranking of the starter start to slow down, and then the first catch of the engine. It was running! Slow and easy, slow and easy. Just enough gas - too much would kill the engine. Josh knew if the engine died, he would not be able to restart it. His battery was on life support before this brutal winter started, and now it was day for day.

He was supposed to meet Rafael at a nearby grocery store. He was not there to shop, but rather to use the public rest room. The store employees were aware of who the homeless kids were that came in to get warm or use the rest rooms. It was tolerated for a short while, but then store security would usher them out. There was usually never any trouble. Once in a while, the local police needed to be called for an assist, but those times were rare.

As Josh was just minutes away from meeting Rafael at the store, he thought about his life. He hated where he was right now. He hated it, and was he was ashamed by it. He was homeless. Other than this beat up old car, he really owned nothing. He did not have a dollar to his name, and he never really knew where his next meal was coming from.

It started with some drug use in Middle School. It was an easy transition, as he was already medicated from Ritalin due to his ADHD. Throw in some more meds for anxiety, and Josh was now ready for the next step - self-medication therapy. Weed, beer, and then some meth. He would come to school stoned, get suspended, go home, get high, and the beat went on. Mom had long ago thrown Dad out of the house and she wanted nothing to do with a strung out kid. At sixteen, she sold the house and moved in with her new boyfriend. Josh and the boyfriend never really hit it off, and before long, he was out of the picture and out of a place to live.

He stopped going to school and soon became part of the invisible underground of youth homelessness. His new family became the other youth who were also homeless. They depended on each other, they helped each other. However, this new community was a double edged sword. Danger also lurked here. Robbery, rape, and even death. Some bad and evil people were only looking for easy targets. Homeless youth often times were just that.

As Josh pulled up to the store, Rafael was standing there waiting for him. He was taking his final drag on a "container cigarette". A "container cigarette" is a cigarette that was been disposed of in an ash tray or container in front of a store before a customer walks in. Often times if someone was lucky, the cigarette was only half smoked.

Standing next to Rafael was a somewhat younger girl. She had on a lightweight coat and wore no gloves. She was shivering from the brisk, cold wind that swirled throughout the parking lot. As the passenger door of Josh's car opened, Rafael said, "Josh, my main man! This here is Julie. She needs a place to hang. Do you mind?" Josh looked at Julie now that he was closer. "Crap - she must be no more than fifteen", he thought. "Hi Julie. There is room in the back seat. Please excuse the mess. Betsy here is my car, my home, and sometimes even my best friend."

Most homeless youth know of places they can go for a while to get out of the cold. They also know when and where free food is offered. However, the nights are a different story. They are cold, they are dark. The options on cold night are often very limited. The lucky ones are able to "couch hop". However, even the welcome mat for "couch hopping" wears thin after a while. Out of total desperation, some even resort to the old trick of "B+E" (breaking and entering).

Some in the community have been trying to get a license which would allow teens with no place to go find safe and warm shelter. Buildings are available, funding is available. Seems like a slam dunk. However, some communities have hardened their hearts to this idea. The old specter of NIBY (Not In my Back Yard) has appeared. As the political battle wages on, the dark, cold nights also continue. In some communities, hundreds of young, vulnerable people look to survive until daylight.

As Josh drove around the area, Rafael needed to scrape the inside of the windshield. The defroster fan had quit months ago, and without constant scraping, the inside of the windshield would totally freeze up. The heater was also minimal, and Julie sat in the back seat and continued to shiver. About 11:00, they ran out of options of where to go to get warm. A default strategy was always to pull into the back parking lot of the drop-in center and spend the night in the car. The kiosk at the bank they just drove by already showed a temperature of -5. It was going to be another brutally cold night.

When they got to the parking lot of the drop-in center, Josh and Rafael got out and relieved themselves before trying to go to sleep. Josh had an old blanket in the trunk and let Julie use it for some degree of warmth. Josh and Rafael had only their heavy jackets. Josh cracked his window just a bit so they could get some fresh air while they slept. It was a tradeoff however, fresh air for more cold. Soon the inside of the windows were totally frozen and the three homeless youths settled in for a cold and fitful night of sleep.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

I would like to say this story was totally fiction, something I just made up this morning. But it is not. Even though the names are fictitious, the circumstances in which they live are not. The scales have fallen off my eyes this year. I have become painfully aware of youth and family homelessness. It is a huge and growing problem in the community in which I live. However, my community is not unique - it is pervasive all over the state and beyond.

 

Late last year, my wife and I decided to dive into the deep end of this pool. The fact that even one kid is homeless on cold, dark nights is totally unacceptable to us and many others. The organization of which we are part is committed to first serve homeless youth in our area, and second to eradicate youth homelessness in our community in ten years or less.

Some say youth homelessness is invisible. It is not. It is just hidden. Look at bit harder, and you will see it. It is there, in 2014, in our community, it is there. We can stop it. We will stop it. Our kids deserve better.