'Homeless' Documents America's Forgotten Kids

Here's a link to a video that one of our ministry leaders posted on Facebook. Our church is gearing up for an annual ministry we do to help kids from low income families get ready for school. Basically we collect school supplies and backpacks and then throw a back to school party for the kids. At the party, adults get to help the kids pack the supplies they will need for their specific grade. A lot of the kids we meet are considered homeless; most of them live in hotels.

The video is a promo for an HBO documentary that airs tonight (July 26). I actually have a free subscription to HBO for the next month so I will be able to catch it. The documentary profiles the homeless kids and families of Orange County, CA, BUT these kids and families are in all of our cities and towns.

I've been to Orange County and have friends who live there. It's basically Fairfax County with palm trees. We have some of the very same problems as they do when it comes to homeless families.

Here are some stats from the video that were hard to hear:

• 40% of those who are homeless in America are families.
• 1 in 50 kids in America are homeless.
• The average age of the homeless in America is 9 years old.

I'm thankful for groups like FACETS in Fairfax County to help us help homeless families. I'm thankful we have a church that cares enough to get involved. I'm thankful we have people leading some of our ministries to the homeless who understand the need, some of them first hand.

If you live in Fairfax County, get involved with one of the many organizations, non-profits, churches and ministries who are working to solve this problem. If you live somewhere else, look for a place to plug in; if there's not a place, create one.

'Homeless' Documents America's Forgotten Kids