Help.
Most 18 year old’s are thinking about which of their parents cars they will get to take to college after their senior year. Or how much beer they’re going to drink, the friends they will make, partners they will meet and how much class they will skip. And, really, that’s what kids should be thinking about. All the fun, excitement, the unknown territory of being the most immature & irresponsible adult they can be because their parents are finally not around. I remember those days. I remember all these feelings including being nervous to be on my own. It’s amazing how many conflicting things the heart can hold. Most of these kids, like me, had a privileged life; a middle to upper class existence that demanded they have what they wanted and therefore we got just that.
But, there’s an entire world that a majority of the middle and upper class chooses to ignore because it is too hard to face. A world with homeless kids and teens. Did you know there are around 3,000 homeless teens in Minneapolis, JUST MINNEAPOLIS, a night? A Night! There are families starving and struggles happening all over the world. That’s just the teen population in Minneapolis. How are we not collectively seeing this and fixing it?!! At the bottom of this post there are some links to non-profits that you can donate to.
Fortunately, for my siblings and I, we were taught to give back, from an early age. Taught to donate, time, money, smiles, skills, anything that we have at the time that may benefit those in need. I remember countless times going with my mom to clean houses for women who were sick with cancer, making food, doing laundry, babysitting. She instilled this in me and I am grateful for that. I was able to see from a young age that giving not only does good it feels good, too. But, it takes more than feeling good to make a change.
I have an 18 year-old, Blue, she’s my rock and my first “official” foster child through the county. She came to me at 16 and at the time, was a broken soul that needed a place to lay her head. She was homeless, lost, hungry and yet, still strong. A year and a half later, through many trials and tribulations, our relationship is stronger than ever. There are days and moments I cannot imagine my life without her. We often ponder the question “Would you change anything that’s happened in your life?”
To me, her answer would be unequivocally yes. Alas, she always tells me no. That all those things, the hard, broken, damaged things, they made her who she is, they brought her to where she needed to be. In this life, right now. A life that she has worked so damn hard to keep, to build, to love. My Blue, she is working two jobs, finishing high school and already enrolled in college and she deserves all of these good moments. She and all the other kids who came into a world with a hardship they didn’t ask for, they get to have good memories, good educations, they get to have really good lives. They get so wonder how much beer they can drink and about the new friends they’re going to make, too! Most of the population can help our youth with that.
Please, do something and not just once, but as often as you can to help. Read this article about what is needed most in shelters. Remember, feeling bad about an epidemic isn’t good enough, find a shelter near you and give. Then give some more.
It’s getting cold out there, check out this article on Thoughtful Donations: What Homeless Shelters Need Most in the Winter.