The increasing amount of young people in the United States experiencing homelessness, including school-aged children, is nothing less than a national crisis.
Yet, these homeless youthsleeping in parks and cars, couch-surfing, and staying in hotels or other very temporary and often unsafe placesoften go unseen. They go unnoticed. But now with the national release of a new documentary film, The Homestretch, homeless youth are finally being seen and heard.
The Homestretch chronicles the lives of three homeless youthRoque, Kasey and Anthonyin Chicago as well as various social-service agencies working with homeless youth, including the Chicago Public Schools. The film is a powerful testament to both the struggles and triumphs that homeless youth experience. It is an honest and empathetic look at what these youth go through daily and shines a light on their remarkable spirit and ability to keep going.
The film's particular focus on education really highlights the role that both education and public schools play in the lives of youth experiencing homelessness. With the surge of homeless youth across the nation, often public schools and, particularly, teachers and social workers are on the front lines in identifying, supporting and connecting unstably housed youth with resources. Furthermore, the educational success of youth experiencing homelessness, while extremely challenging, should not be overlooked. For often it is education that can open doors and provide opportunities for youth to break out of the cycle of homelessness.
Yet what is most special about The Homestretch is that it puts a voice, a face, a family and a community to the national crisis of youth homelessness. It humanizes the more than 1 million homeless youth in our nation. It reminds us that the Roques, Kaseys and Anthonys are more than just a statistic. And they are more than their circumstances or past experiences. They are passionate, resourceful, courageous, determined, funny, hardworking, forgiving, compassionate and resilient. They are truly extraordinary.
And now, it is time for us to be extraordinary. It is my hope that The Homestretchand, more specifically, the stories of the youth in itwill help to spark a national movement to end youth homelessness. A movement that will help to bring youth out of the shadows and into safe and stable housing. A movement that shows them they are wanted, that they belong, that they are valued. A movement that shows youth experiencing homelessness that we see them, that we notice them.
Frank McAlpin is a Hollywood-based social worker and activist. He's on Twitter @frankmctalk.