Poverty

The cold, dry air welcomed me into the homeless shelter, as the families looked at me with confusion. The 5-year-old boy welcomed me into the shelter and asked me, “Are you going to be living with us too?” I gave him a smile and nodded as I couldn’t help but notice his yellow, baggy shirt that touched his knees paired with nothing but a brown pair of flip flops that were evidently too big for him.

“These kids mostly get C’s and and D’s on their report cards,” Ms. Chamberlain said. The homeless shelter had about 15 families living in it, with kids of varying ages. Poverty is a battle these families have to deal with everyday. It’s like a never-ending cycle that controls every part of their life, may it be education, social life and even professional life. The families don’t get to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving or even Christmas. The homeless shelter wasn’t just a building to them, it was a home, it was the only thing that gave these families stability and support. As if the constant reminder of not being able to provide their children with a safe and stable life isn’t bad enough for the adults of these families, they are always under the pressure of having to juggle between several jobs and taking care of their children’s mental stability and their education and their social lives and their safety.