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Arizandy Rios

Service Learning Project

April 1, 2018

Homeless Youth

Los Angeles County's public and charter schools counted nearly 63,000 homeless

students last school year, 2015-2016, meaning that about one in 45 students in the nation's

second largest school district does not have stable housing. Children and youths who are

homeless face considerable challenges today, and, according to many studies, also later in life.

Children without homes often suffer from health difficulties and are less likely to have access to

medical and dental care. This results in low birth weight, malnutrition, ear infections, exposure to

environmental toxins, cavities and gum disease, and chronic illnesses. Most children that are

often found homeless is because somebody in the family lost their job, or they lost a source

income because a parent became deceased, or a parent was deported. However that is not always

the case another common reason is children are thrown out of their homes or runway because of

the fact that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. In the Los Angeles County, there are

between 6,000 and 10,000 unaccompanied youth and young adults each year who are

experiencing homelessness.

Kids are victims of circumstance. They don’t choose to be homeless. Sadly many blame

themselves for the situation. A lot of times, they feel a lot of responsibility on their shoulders,

and they tend to grow up faster. School is not a priority for them, so they want to drop out of

school quicker. They are more than twice as likely to repeat a grade in school, be suspended,
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expelled or drop out of high school, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The

Homeless Education Program works to provide homeless students with backpacks, school

supplies, hygiene kits and other necessary school-related items. Many children simply want those

blankets, pajamas or just new undergarments. Another organizations that is known for helping

homeless children is a non-profit organization called School on Wheels. Their main mission is to

give the children the academic assistance they need. They mentors who help the children in

whatever school work they need. The grades vary from kindergarten to twelfth grade. They also

serve as a huge support system in letting the children know they are there for them and care

about them.

Los Angeles County has the highest number of children in jeopardy of going hungry

because of its large population, nearly 10 million. Meaning that children in the Los Angeles

County are at higher risk then another county. The U.S. Census and U.S. Department of

Agriculture, found that 650,000 children in Los Angeles County are "food insecure." The U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to

enough food for an active, healthy life. Fifty million Americans – one in five children - go to bed

and awaken hungry. Across the United States, the number of families and individuals who are

food insecure or living in constant fear of not being able to feed their families and themselves

has remained constant or been growing for many years. The main reason as to why food

insecurity happens is because of unemployment, high housing costs, low wages, or medical and

health costs. Children that continually go hungry often have poor health, behavioral and

emotional problems, and difficulties in socializing with peers. Obesity among food insecure

children is also extremely common, due to the low quality of food they receive.

Throughout these last few weeks I have truly learned more about homeless youth and the
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everyday troubles they face. As someone who grew up in a home with food always in the kitchen

or on the dinner table, I often took food for granted. I would complain about not liking my food

and refusing to eat while somewhere in Los Angeles there were children who hadn’t had a proper

meal in days. Those children were most likely homeless who lived in mission centers or even on

the streets of Skid Row. It is heartbreaking to think that some children don’t know when their

next meal will come or even where they will be spend the night. Of course it is never the child’s

fault but it is always the children who suffer the most because of their lack of stability and

frequent moves, they have three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems such as

depression, anxiety, aggression, withdrawal, or sleeping disorders.

The past few weeks my team and I wanted to do more then make a video simply stating

statistics, we wanted to actually help people. Luckily one of my team members volunteered at an

after school program for homeless youth that’s called School on Wheels. We got to go on a day

when the children were going on a field trip to the Santa Monica mountains to hike and got to

provide them with lunch after. The day before going on the hike my team and I went grocery

shopping for bread, turkey, mayo, water, chips, and granola bars for the children to eat, after we

headed to my house after and made about thirty lunch bags. School on Wheels is located directly

on Skid Row and driving past all the tents and the people in streets was an incredibly sad

experience because it is just a reminder that some people don’t have a home but it is also a wake

up call to be grateful for all the blessings in life. Meeting the children was really uplifting

because besides their hardships they manage to smile and were some of the kindest kids I ever

left. They were so excited to get away from the noisy Los Angeles and go up into the mountains

and explore nature. The excitement was clear on their faces while walking through the

mountains, everyone of them wanted to stop and really embrace the moment because for most of
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them it was their first time on a hike and away from the noisy filled city. This project taught me a

lot about the homeless youth and how it is increasing rapidly each year but it also taught me that

even a simple sandwich, chips, granola bar, and water can go a long way. It’s not always about a

grand gesture but the impact a small kind gesture can make.