We hope that nobody we know will be forced out of their home, but it happens every day all over the country.
For a multitude of reasons, people have no other option than to live on streets and in shelters. While shelters do the best they can to provide a safe place to stay; they often do not have the funding required to truly support all that a person needs. In many cases, shelters are not even able to provide warm meals, clothes, and basic medical care. Living in a shelter is not an ideal life for anyone, but especially for children.
As unfortunate as it is, many children call the streets and shelters home. According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, “A staggering 2.5 million children are now homeless each year in America…one in every 30 children.” This is an outstanding number of children! Children who live in shelters and on the street are not afforded the same lifestyle as other children. The aspects of life that we often take for granted, and have become accustomed to, are rarities for homeless children. Things like getting the newest clothes in fashion, having the latest electronics, and even birthday parties are a low priority when basic needs aren’t met day to day. We feel it’s not only important to support homeless shelters but to make the children who live in them feel special.
Put kindness into action!
This month’s campaign encourages families to show kindness to kids who live in shelters by providing all of the items for a birthday celebration! Celebrating your birthday every year is probably something that isn’t even questioned. However, when a family is struggling just to get by, kids do not experience birthdays like their friends and classmates. We want to be sure each and every kid living in a homeless shelter near you has a day to celebrate their birth, even if the celebration is not on their actual birthday! Please check out the June Campaign for information on how you can provide the best UN-birthday party for homeless children in your area this month.
