Letter: Homeless children

To the editor:

As our children settle back into school routines, I remember an encounter I had three years ago with a girl in one of my daughter’s classes. We connected over having the same birthday and soon she began telling me about her life. She was living at the Lawrence Community Shelter (then downtown), sleeping on a mat on the floor a few inches from her family members. Knowing this child put a face to what can be an invisible problem.

My “birthday friend” was one of several children in our school who were homeless that year. The Lawrence school district recorded 46 students in the district who qualified as homeless under the restrictive federal Housing and Urban Development requirements for Continuum of Care funding. This definition excludes students whose families are living with relatives or friends. It is likely the number of children with no secure place to call home was much higher.

It is getting worse. In the 2015 count using the same restrictive HUD definition, 80 children have been counted as homeless.

It is crucial we support the united efforts of local social service agencies, our city government and members of faith communities in Justice Matters in designing an affordable housing trust fund. It is a first step in ensuring that we have safe, affordable housing for everyone who lives in Lawrence.

I look forward to soon celebrating that no more families are on waiting lists for housing in this community and children are coming to school from stable homes.