She is pretty and kind. She has big dreams, but she’s tired. Jane* is homeless, and she could be sitting right next to you.
One in three homeless people are under the age of 18. According to the WFISD Public Information officer Renae Murphy, there are at least 300 registered homeless students in the district this year, and last year there was a breathtaking 500 students without a home. Sadly, there are even more that just haven’t told anyone about their condition unlike Jane.
“I don’t live in a house,” Jane said. “My mom says we’re homeless on documents and insurance papers.”
Jane said the situation is stressful for her entire family including her siblings. That stress has led to family fights.
“I want to live in a house away from my parents,” she said. “They argue a lot.”
Even in her current situation, Jane has managed to keep her dreams big.
“I want to move to California and attend an academy for the dramatic arts,” she said.
Jane is only one of many students in a situation like this. The school district has a social worker that helps organize ways to provide for the students in Jane’s situation. These students receive clothes, food and many personal items that benefit the whole family.
Where do these supplies come from? They come from the student body and faculty members. When clothes are donated to the school, they are given to a student that couldn’t afford those clothes on their own. The same goes for books and other school supplies.
Imagine not having the necessary supplies needed in class on a daily basis. That is a stress on homeless students every single day. Without donations, homeless students could be sitting next to you empty-handed, wanting to learn and being incapable.
Guidance counselor Alice Rogers said students can help the situation.
She said students should look through their closets, and on the next trip to the store ask mom or dad if they can grab an extra spiral or package of pencils. That help might just be the one way for Jane to pass her classes, sending her to California to achieve her dreams.