Homelessness

Tonight, each of us with lay our heads on a pillow and fall asleep as we wait for the arrival of tomorrow. There is a percentage of adolescents throughout the country who do not know where they will be laying their heads tonight, or if they will ever find any rest. A home is something that most Americans work hard for yet still take for granted. At this moment, 1.6 to 2.8 million homeless teenagers do not know if they will be safe tonight (“Gay and Transgender,” 2010). Stephanie’s Sanctuary hopes to better the community of New Orleans by developing a much needed center which will provide the local homeless youth with an education, a safe place to rest, and a little independence for the homeless youth.

Homeless teenagers are not “bad apples”. McManus and Thompson (2008) reported that “many become homeless due to prematurely exiting or being forcibly removed from their homes, often in response to abuse by their primary care givers. As sad as it may be, the truth is that many of these runaways feel it is safer on the streets than in their own homes. Adolescents account for roughly one quarter of all the homeless population” (Merscham et al. 2008). However, currently there is only one shelter that will open its doors to unaccompanied minors in the entire downtown New Orleans. This one shelter is named The Covenant House and is a great organization offering 70 available beds at any given time to New Orleans youth in need. However, 70 beds is not enough to house the hundreds of homeless adolescents in New Orleans at any given time. This past December there was a deadly fire which killed eight homeless teenagers who were trying to keep warm in an abandoned warehouse (“New Orleans Warehouse Fire,” 2010).

Education is the key to success. It is something that children are told all throughout their youth. This is unfortunately not true for many children. The truth of the matter is that for many homeless youth, an education is one of their least concerns....