Homeless Children

Over one and a half million teens and children in the United States are homeless. Part of this staggering number is related to parent absence, whether it be emotional or physical absence. When parents become absent in the lives of their children, these children then search for a way to escape, often finding themselves homeless and desperate for guidance. If it was required that these children and teens had adequate care and living conditions, the number of homeless children would drastically decrease. The issue of parent absence in the lives of impoverished children is similar to the collapsing of a multistory building, therefore, communities implementing frequent welfare checkups could ensure adequate care and mental stability, just as it

In the situation of parent absence, it is just as the absence of a floor level. If one or both parents becomes absent in the construction of the family, the family will lose stability and eventually collapse, just as a building would collapse if the floor level had disappeared. When parents become absent, the children and other family members search for support, whether that be in positive leaders such as grandparents, school staff, church leaders, and individuals in the community, or in negative outlets such as drugs, alcohol, gangs, and other dangerous activity. These “support beams” are necessary to maintain suitable mental and physical care and health. In the documentary of “Joe’s Place,” members of the community have stepped up to open their doors to teens and children that are in need of support in place of their parents. This house offers a positive home environment and encourages success in teens who were previously homeless and struggling. The boys in the documentary (Jeff, Fred, Steve, and Ty’re) have relocated to Joe’s Place because of family issues and parent absence in their

This shows that statewide or countrywide systems do not have to be implemented in order to monitor these children. Also, if the children are truant or refuse to go to school for an array of reasons, other community members could volunteer or be elected in a committee type setting in order to ensure that these children are still being tended to. Also, in disagreement with the idea of children and teens being checked up on, one could argue that there is no clear line of what qualifies “bad enough” for these checkups. Many people would agree that if there is any suspicion or hunch that a child is in an unsafe, inadequate, or unloving home then that child should be checked up on frequently. Teachers, staff, and community members that see these children on a daily or weekly basis have the mind to judge whether these children or teens are properly taken care of. They could report to the committee and alert other people that there is an issue. Finally, the point of a new agency or sponsor being utilized could be costly and inefficient. However, in the situation of a community in poverty crisis, many people in general would step up and support an organization to help ensure adequate care. If planned correctly, this system may be very cost efficient while