For anyone experiencing homelessness, the problem is rarely solved by simply finding a place to live. For homeless children and teenagers it is an even more complicated issue. A series of complex and harrowing circumstances have forced these kids onto the streets. Their problems stem from more than just the loss of a stable adult caregiver or a safe place to live – each of them carries deep emotional and psychological scars.

Among young people living on the street feelings of isolation and lack of self-worth are pervasive and each day they struggle to meet their most fundamental physical needs, things most kids take for granted, such as food, water, warmth, a place to go to the bathroom or wash up, a secure place to sleep. Safety is a luxury. School is a memory. Constructive growth is stifled.

Lacking physical, intellectual, and emotional maturity – as well as positive adult role models to guide them through the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood – homeless youth are among the most vulnerable members of our community. Many of these youth within 10 years will be dead or incarcerated. It is often easy to lose sight of the fact that these "homeless people," these so-called "problems" are just kids.

Unaided, their potential to grow into healthy adults is a near impossibility. This is not just a quiet, isolated personal tragedy-it is a tragedy for our entire community.