I absolutely love the beginning of the school year. I have such fond childhood memories of getting all my new books and supplies, learning new subjects, making new friends… It all seemed so magical and exciting. But I may be looking back through rose-colored glasses, because – as my son never hesitates to remind me – school is hard. The challenges of classwork, homework, lack of sleep, extra-curricular activities, and social pressures are a lot for any kid to handle.
Especially homeless kids.
Just think of what it must be like to be one of the nearly 24,000 children living in homeless shelters right now. Waking up at 5:00 a.m. to make the long commute from the shelter to school. Always afraid of being outed by classmates as a “shelter kid.” Coming home exhausted at the end of each grueling day – and not even having a quiet space to sit down and do homework.
This all hit me especially hard last week when I met Jay, a 10-year-old boy who has spent half his life in homeless shelters. His mom, Michelle, brought Jay and his two younger siblings to the Coalition to pick up a few of the backpacks filled with school supplies that we give away each year to 3,000 homeless girls and boys. Michelle told me they lost their home in 2011 after their apartment building was condemned. They had to leave with whatever they could carry in a couple of plastic bags – which wasn’t much. Jay walked out with literally only the clothes on his back.
Jay doesn’t talk much, and rarely used to smile. He almost never takes off the grey striped hoodie he wore that terrible day they lost their home. It’s the one thing he has that reminds him of happier days, the one thing that’s just his. Losing his home was really hard on Jay. He found it more and more difficult to keep up in school, and had a lot of trouble writing. But just over a year ago his family was transferred to a shelter where the Coalition runs its Bound for Success (BFS) after-school program for homeless children. And that’s when things started turning around for Jay.
I want you to know that right now, as the new school year gets underway, it’s a great time to support the Coalition’s youth programs. Even a small donation will help homeless girls and boys who are struggling to keep up in school, but who just need a little extra help from someone who cares.
Bound for Success is a daily after-school and summer day-camp program that helps homeless kids keep up with their classmates by offering one-on-one tutoring, recreational activities and field trips to museums, zoos and cultural institutions. The constant turmoil of homelessness creates enormous obstacles to success in school for kids like Jay, and can deeply affect their emotional and physical health. Just this past June, The New York Times wrote about the deplorable conditions for families in shelters noting, “that kind of crowding makes it difficult if not impossible to get a good night’s sleep, to discipline a child, or to concentrate on homework.”
When Jay first came to BFS, our Program Director, Angie, noticed how he refused to smile – even when he seemed to be enjoying something. Jay was afraid that anything he admitted to liking would just be taken away from him. “I also noticed how fiercely he held on to an old tattered hoodie. It was the only thing that gave him some feeling of stability.”
Angie spent a lot of one-on-one time with Jay. She told me, “At first, he was so embarrassed by his writing that every day at journal-writing time, he’d find some excuse to leave the room.” But BFS is a place where kids feel safe, where they can get the help and attention they so desperately need. Angie sat down with Jay each day to help him write in his journal. This simple activity improved his writing skills and also allowed him to express his feelings in a way he never could before.
Jay started the new semester at his elementary school a couple weeks ago, and after the first day of school came straight to the BFS classroom. He wanted to tell Angie that when the teacher asked if anyone would come up to write their name on the blackboard, he was the first to raise his hand. Angie told me, “Jay had the biggest smile on his face that I’d ever seen. And I noticed that he wasn’t wearing that tattered old hoodie anymore. I was so excited for him and gave him a big hug.”
There are so many great girls and boys out there like Jay – kids who have been through unimaginable traumas, who are at such risk. But your support of the Coalition’s Youth Programs like Bound for Success makes a huge difference in the lives of homeless school kids. You can truly help girls and boys like Jay who are desperate for some stability, hope and happiness in their lives.
With warm gratitude,
Mary E. Brosnahan President & CEO
P.S. Nearly 87,000 New York City public school students experienced homelessness at some point last year. Please make your most generous tax- deductible gift today – help homeless students, like Jay, succeed in school, before they fall behind. Thank you so much.
