Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Daniela Ginta

THE WAY I SEE IT

GINTA: Let’s put an end to youth homelessness

Dec 9, 2019 | 2:11 PM

ONE OF THE THINGS I took for granted as a child (and teenager) was the thoughtfulness of adults around me. I had a good home with involved and loving parents, but there was this circle of people – extended family, friends and neighbours, who made sure, each in their own way, that kids in their midst were OK. If I ever forgot my keys, a neighbour would open their home to me and they’d offer a meal too, if I was hungry. My family did the same for other kids in the neighbourhood. Like I said, it’s easy to take it for granted.

Two days ago, as I was driving home, I saw three young people, not connected to each other as they were on different streets, looking disheveled and as if they did not belong to anyone. Homeless perhaps; troubled for sure and hungry most likely. As a parent, it is hard to shake the thought that this sight should not exist. No young person should ever be homeless or in that state of carelessness.

There are many righteous arguments to explain why young people should do this or that (for the record, I really do not believe in using the word ‘should’ other than when I apply it to myself or to a group of people I am part of.) But here’s the reason I reject righteousness when it comes to homeless people in general, and youth in particular: every one of the young people living on the street or in a precarious situation carries a story. It could be abuse (physical, mental, sexual), mental health issues, witnessing substance abuse and the ugliness that comes with it, or any kind of wrongness that many children get to experience from before they can remember.

As much as I want to make it go away, I also know that no one can stop that from happening any time soon. But we can attend to the young people that have lived through dysfunctionality and help them work towards building a better future for themselves. Here’s the thing: if 1,500 people or families donated twenty dollars each for the approaching Camp Out to End Homelessness initiative, that would already amount to almost half of the goal for this year. Double that and we would be over the financial goal established by the charitable foundation A Way Home Kamloops ($50,000.) I know that twenty dollars can mean a lot to many, but to many others, such a sum is not going to be felt if donated.

I also know that it is that time of the year when every other envelope in the mail is a call to donate. The way I look at it is that as much as I want to, our family cannot donate to every single cause that we wish to help. But we can help, so we choose a few causes and donate as much as we can to each. It matters. Like I said before, every little bit counts.

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This is a cause that stands out because it involves young people. Given a chance many will thrive. And that chance is partly up to us, the community that surrounds them; all 136 of them, which was the homeless youth count for 2018. This is not just about youth living on the street exclusively. There are some who couch surf and others who live in derelict homes where parental presence is minimal or missing, and substance abuse goes rampant. Initiatives like Camp Out to End Homelessness, which will happen on Friday, December 13th are essential. You can follow this link to donate to one of the volunteer campers (or you can become one yourself and collect pledges). Please do if you can.

This is a conversation we cannot not have. This we ought to keep talking about until there will be no more lost and forgotten youth. It’s how we define ourselves as a community, by taking care of the most vulnerable among us. We have shown so many times that we care. Let’s keep on doing it. Please be a part of this initiative.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.