December 2006
How Kids and Families Can Help the Homeless
“Need food. Anything will help,” says the sign.
The woman holding it is standing next to the stoplight as you and your family wait for the light to change. Later, you all walk out of a store downtown, and a man asks for money. The children are full of questions. How can we answer them?
Local professionals who work with low-income and homeless people suggest answering children’s questions as accurately and thoroughly as possible. The kind of information they are ready to receive will be reflected by the questions they ask. Here are a few of their tips.
“Mom, why is that man asking for money?”
“That person is someone having trouble making a living, and they are asking for help. This is the way they are trying to make some money to make ends meet,” is what Giles Arendt, outreach coordinator at Community Youth Services would say. He has worked with homeless young people on the streets in Thurston and surrounding counties for nearly 20 years.
There are many people in Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap Counties having difficulty meeting their basic needs, and many are families with children. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 10 percent of the people in these counties are living in poverty. Some are homeless. The 2006 annual count of homeless people reports that one-fifth of the homeless are under 18 years old in Thurston County, and one-third are under 18 in Kitsap and Pierce Counties.
It is important not to reinforce stereotypes, says Eunice T. Santiago, a mental health counselor working with low-income parents in Thurston and Mason counties. In Thurston County, 58 percent of homeless people said they became homeless due to mental illness or drug and/or alcohol abuse. Being homeless is a temporary situation that most try to change. Only 15 percent were homeless for more than five years. Almost half have been homeless for less than a year.
Santiago says that it is also important to talk with kids about how many homeless people come across difficult times in ways that can touch anyone’s life. These things can be out of their control, like a major illness or injury. For example, 83 percent of the homeless people in Thurston County reported that they lost their homes due to losing their jobs, family breakups or inability to pay their rent or mortgage.
And, it’s not just about having jobs, she says. It is also about having family or friends who can help. Some people don’t have a support system to help bridge the gap when they find themselves in financial trouble.
“Why don’t they get a job?”
Arendt says he would answer by talking about how some people are unable to hold jobs. They might have children to care for and cannot afford childcare. Perhaps their car, needed to get to work, has broken down and they don’t have the money or credit to buy another one. A health condition can keep people from working. Long-term illnesses can cause them to lose their jobs. High health care expenses can keep a person from being able to keep up with their rent or mortgages.
Some people cannot find jobs even if they have skills. Or they might have a job, then lose it due to no fault of their own, perhaps working for a business that changes ownership and lets go of its employees.
“Why don’t we give them some money if they need help?”
We might drive or walk by people asking for help, and some children might wonder why. One young child asked her mom, “We have a home. Why don’t they come live with us?”
Santiago would say, “There are other ways that we help people. I give money to organizations that provide free meals and health care.” When her own kids were young, they helped an organization distribute sandwiches to hungry families in parks. The experience opened the eyes and hearts of her kids. They often remembered and remarked on this experience as they grew up, she said.
When kids donate time, money or things to people needing help, they learn to be compassionate, and they find out that it can be fun. One mom said that when her family volunteered to serve free meals, her kids saw that many of the people who needed help looked just like them, not what they had stereotyped as “street people.”
Kids who are resistant to volunteering often enjoy it once they get started. Debbie Nickerson, an English teacher at Black Hills High School in Tumwater, was initially skeptical about the school’s community service requirement for graduation, feeling that people should volunteer because they want to. Then she watched many students who volunteered just to satisfy the requirement become regular donors of their time. She watched them make friends and enjoy the camaraderie. They discovered that they liked feeling useful and making a difference.
Student Jared Sweeney says he started volunteering at the food bank because of the requirement, but now likes volunteering. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something instead of just sitting around.”
“Children, when empowered, are capable of immense change,” observes Dana Lerma, development manager at Kitsap Humane Society. “Their generosity is just unbelievable.”
A smile and a kind response can mean a lot to the person asking for help, say Arendt and Monica Peabody, organizer at the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition in Olympia. It doesn’t have to be a conversation. Parents can model friendliness and respect to all people, including those who are homeless. As for any stranger, use intuition to stay safe and avoid situations that feel dangerous, they say.
Practical Ways to Help
There are many ways that kids and young people can make a difference in our communities. Below are a few ideas.
Thurston County
Fill a backpack with things a young homeless person ages 16-21 would like and need on cold days. These can include movie tickets, a gift certificate for music CDs, a flashlight, a cool hat, mittens and socks. Bring these to Rosie’s Place at Community Youth Services, 711 State Ave. N.E., Olympia. 360-943-0780. www.communityyouthservices.org.
Anyone age 12 and older can volunteer at the Thurston
County Food Bank. Kids 11 and younger can volunteer with an adult.
Individuals, friends, youth groups and families can organize food drives
at grocery stores or hold “No Knock” food drives. For these
easier and safer neighborhood drives, grocery bags are left on porches
with a note that filled bags left on the porch will be picked up on a
particular day and time. Volunteer manager Betty Rose will help with letters,
flyers and support. Thurston County Food Bank, 220 Thurston St. N.E.,
Olympia. 360-352-8597. www.thurstoncountyfoodbank.org.
Habitat for Humanity builds homes for low-income families
by partnering with the families and volunteers. Kids, friends, families
and youth groups can distribute door hangers in neighborhoods to get the
word out about Habitat’s programs and donations that are needed.
Kids can collect “Cans for Habitat,” a program in which recycling
centers donate money from the cans to the organization. People 16 and
older can help build houses. Call Alex Bertolucci, volunteer coordinator,
to get involved. South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, 210 Thurston
Ave. N.E., Olympia. 360-956-3456. www.spshabitat.org.
Some children become homeless when they escape abuse with their moms. They can get temporary shelter, learn about resources and get support at Safeplace. Safeplace needs donations of gift cards from stores and restaurants, gas cards, phone cards, household items, furniture, office supplies and toiletries. Storage space is limited so call for their wish list. Donations can be delivered to the business office at 314 Legion Way S.E., Olympia. 360-786-8754. www.safeplaceolympia.org.
Give gifts that help people and support important causes this holiday season. At the Alternative Gift Fair, gift cards can be purchased from local, national and international nonprofit organizations to support their work. These are gifts that shelter homeless people, feed the hungry, deliver meals to seniors, provide health and dental care for low-income people, and more. The Alternative Gift Fair will be held on Dec. 2, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. in downtown Olympia. For more information, call Debbie Nickerson at 360-754-5397.
Pierce County
Bring three cans of food to Sprinker Recreation Center, 14824 S. C St. in Spanaway, on Dec. 2, 9 a.m. - 10 p.m., and get a free ice skating pass for that night’s skating at 8:15 p.m., as well as discount admission to Fantasy Lights at Spanaway Lake Park and a free Subway sandwich. The canned food will be donated to FISH Food Banks of Pierce County. Contact Eric Peterson, recreation coordinator, 253-798-4030, epeters@co.pierce.wa.us for more information.
The Tacoma Rescue Mission provides emergency shelter and food to homeless people, as well as programs to help them become self-sufficient. They always need clothes, household items and bedding. Items can be dropped off at the Donation Center at New Life Square, 425 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma. 253-383-4493. www.trm.org.
Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity builds homes for low-income families by partnering with the families and volunteers. Volunteers at construction sites must be 16 and older (those younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult). For more information, call 253-627-5626 or visit www.tpc-habitat.org/youth/index.php.
Women and children escaping abuse can find emergency shelter at the Pierce County YWCA Women’s Support Shelter. Donations of new gifts for the holidays are needed to fill a “store” for kids and other residents to find presents for their mothers and siblings. Throughout the year, the shelter can use donations of quality clothing, household items, cell phones, food and toiletry items. Drop them off at the YWCA, 405 Broadway, Tacoma. Contact Kelly McDonald, 253-272-4181 ext. 264, for times that donations are accepted. www.ywca.org.
Kitsap County
Help homeless kids by donating individually wrapped snack foods, such as juice, Ramen noodles and breakfast bars, as well as warm clothes, including hats and socks, blankets, bus passes, phone cards, lip balm, shampoo and lotions to Bremerton’s StandUp For Kids. These items will be donated to schools to distribute to those who need them. High school kids and Scouts have organized food and clothing drives in the past. Contact Josephine Clark, 360-479-2389, or Bremerton@standupforkids.org, to get involved.
On weekends, the Lord’s Neighborhood Diner serves free meals for low-income and homeless people in Bremerton. Anyone can volunteer to help cook by arriving at 9:30 a.m. Volunteers are also needed to set tables and to clean up Those younger than 14 need to bring an adult to volunteer with them. Food donations are always needed, as well as money to buy meat and other food items. Clothing donations are also welcome. The diner is in the basement of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 700 Callahan Drive (at Hemlock Street), Bremerton. Call Martha Goodloe, 360-377-4732, for more information.
Habitat for Humanity in Kitsap County has a Youth United Steering Committee for youth groups and individuals. Their goal is to build a Habitat home that is youth-funded and youth-built. Contact Laura Harwood at 360-830-0793 or mountaingirl360@hotmail.com. For other volunteer opportunities, contact Volunteer Coordinator Barb Gabriel at 360-479-3853. www.kitsaphabitat.org.
YWCA Kitsap County shelters and provides support to children and women escaping abuse. Their three locations can use donations of colored paper, movie and event tickets for kids, and gas, grocery and phone cards, among many other things. Call 360-479-0522 for drop-off times. YWCA Kitsap County, 905 Pacific Ave., Bremerton. www.kcdvtf.org/ywca.html.
Debbie Leung is an Olympia writer who has volunteered at Safeplace and currently volunteers and makes donations that support local under-privileged communities.
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