I saw a homeless child today. About 8 years old.

[Dr Fate]

Sleeping in an alley at 9:00AM.

A little boy about 8 years old.

I have never seen a homeless kid that young before.

A half hour later, when I got an Salvation Army person to go back w/ me to check it out, he was gone.

Were all of you aware that there are homeless CHILDREN in the United States of America?

I'm not talking about orphanages or kids in a program- I'm talking about sleeping on the streets.

Doc

[wicket]

1. I've seen entire families on the streets in Boston

It's so heartbreaking :( Thanks for trying to help him- you are an angel :hug:

[Dr Fate]

3. This kid was alone. There were no homeless adults anywhere near.

I assume the parents were out looking for drugs or food, but who knows.

I cant get this out of my mind.

[lukasahero]

27. Sometimes the homeless adults are working.

I've seen it in Boston. I've met some of them.

[Dr Fate]

33. But that boy could be molested or exploited.

Leaving that little boy in an alley, asleep is not the right choice.

I know that the Salvation Army has day programs for kids.
The kid was white-so my guess is he is not an immigrant with parents who dont know this- I just dont see how this happens.

[Horse with no Name]

32. Or they could be looking for jobs

Many Americans are only a paycheck away from being homeless.

[Dr Fate]

34. I understand that- but leaving him asleep on the street?

That is not safe.

I hope I see that little boy again- next time I'm going to stay with him and call the Salvation Army on the phone. There are day programs available for this kid.

[Horse with no Name]

38. no it's not safe

but you have to understand, desperate people do desperate things.
When there aren't any choices, people do the best they can--albeit sometimes that isn't near enough or isn't the right choice.

[villager]

2. let a thousand "family values" bloom!

n/t

[bullimiami]

4. i saw a homeless family during reagan.

displaced auto worker from michigan. living out of a truck here in florida in the woods by the intercoastal.
parents and little kids.

[boobooday]

It's just shameful

What a disgusting, inhumane lack of priorities our country displays.

[atreides1]

5. Yes

While we were living in Tucson.

[slide to the left]

6. The average age of a homeless person is 9. nt

[MadMaddie]

7. There are many homeless teens...many of those teens

are gay...

It is sad isn't it...richest country in the world and we have homeless children in this country...

[AndyA]

8. This is what is wrong with America trying to help the rest of the world,

when our very own children have been left behind. Bush should be ashamed of himself. Wasting all that money in the Middle East when it's so desperately needed here at home.

It was nice of you to try to find help for the kid. He's probably terrified and lonely. So very sad. I hope someone helps him soon.

[raccoon]

24. America isn't trying to help the rest of the world. America's trying

to control countries that are vital to "our" (read: the corporations') interests.

[AndyA]

25. I realize this. I was trying to avoid taking the focus off the topic.

Our current administration keeps telling us they want to spread freedom and democracy to the rest of the world. We all know that isn't really the case.

And what's so great about freedom and democracy when we have 8 year old kids living on the streets right here in America? I know things are worse in other countries, but I am so tired of their blatant arrogance. They don't even make a half-hearted attempt to conceal their dirty deeds any longer.

That 8 year old kid has been left behind, and it's a shame. This is not what America is supposed to be about.

[onehandle]

9. Plenty more out there since Clinton left office.

No Republcans standing around to adopt him? Where are they when they're needed?

[BlackHeart]

10. You are jumping to a conclusion

unless you left out details that would confirm he was homeless instead of lost or some other reason.

I've got to ask.

Why did you just leave the scene?

I ahve a hunch you will follow up on this situation, please let us know what you find out.

[Dr Fate]

13. I went straight to the Salvation Army around the block.

We were back w/i a half hour.

I already followed up. Perhaps I should have woken the little fella and taken him with me. I feel awful- you are right- I should not have left the scene- but I see homeless people every day.

I doubt I'm jumping to conclusions- he was alseep, in an alley with a dirty blanket. He could be a run away, I guess.

He was a little white kid, about 8 years old or so.

I cant get this off my mind...

[renate]

22. you did the right thing, IMO

You couldn't have forced him to go anywhere with you, and he probably wouldn't have gone on his own. Whether he's a runaway or a kid skipping school, he knows not to go anywhere with a stranger.

Now that he's found a place to sleep, there's a good chance that he'll return there tonight/tomorrow, and you'll have another shot at helping him.

Maybe you could put a can of Coke and a sealed bag of chips in the alley; he's surely been told not to take food from a stranger, and maybe he knows not to eat food that he just finds lying around, but he might be able to figure out that a can is safe and a sealed bag with no holes is probably safe. Besides, although what he really needs is a good healthy meal, Coke and chips would be harder for him to resist, and he does need calories, too. My son found a bag of candy in a vending machine once and despite all my warnings for years, he'd have torn into it if I hadn't been there. And he wasn't hungry or homeless, he was just a kid who likes candy.

Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

:hug: for you and :hug: for the kid.

[RufusEarl]

11. Yes i've been aware of this problem for five years.

Recently on DU a story of a woman with 14 children living in condemned house no elec no water. The real story got passed over in the thread, everyone was talking about her having 14 children and missed the point that they were basically homeless.

[Systematic Chaos]

12. You should come check out Vegas

There are literally hundreds of people - single people of all ages and families - who have used the areas around Main Street north of the downtown casino area as their campsite. The police run them off but they just relocate to another area, such as along Foremaster Road where the city's main dairy is.

One time, they interviewed a girl who was supposedly 11 years old for a segment on the local evening news. She had hickeys all over her neck and was wearing full makeup. It was enough to kill my appetite and make me physically ill. And given that eating is one of the things I do best, that is no small feat. :cry:

[Dr Fate]

14. I'm in San Francisco- but this is the 1st child I've seen...

...and no parents or adults were anywhere around.

[converted_democrat]

15. We have whole families sleeping in cars in our local park.. It's so sad..

It's only a mile or so from my house so I bake brownies and cookies and send them with my SO to pass out.. I can't go, it makes me cry, and I doubt my crying helps them in anyway shape or form.. There is a local church that provides a free meal everyday.. The church used to just operate a pantry, but luckily someone pointed out that you can't cook much in a car.. Up until a year ago there were no homeless in my community, but now there are quite a few..

edited for my spelling issues..

[Dr Fate]

19. There was no family any where near- this kid was all alone.

An 8 year old little boy, sleeping in an alley, alone.

I've never seen such a thing.

[converted_democrat]

23. That's so sad.. I can't even imagine.. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

16. I remember the sad pictures of people living in the streets....

In Calcutta, perhaps. But never in this country--before Reagan.

There were always a few winos in the old part of downtown. At least they could crassh in the crummy hotels--which are gone, now.

[Cleita]

17. Posted this a few days ago about homeless children in

my county. Thirty percent of homeless are children.
From my journal.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Cleita/4

[faithnotgreed]

29. thank you cleita - thank you dr fate - and everyone who read this post

and those who are heartbroken over this
we all should feel this deeply and then get to work on it according to our ability

thank you each and every one who love
there are many here

[MissB]

18. Just pulling himself up by the boot straps.

:hug: I'm glad you went to the Salvation Army around the corner. I have a child that age and I cannot imagine him sleeping on the street.

[WillyT]

20. Yep...

America... Whadda Country...

:evilfrown:

[Swamp Rat]

21. It's common in Brasil

I saw TENS OF THOUSANDS of homeless children there. The children often resort to sniffing glue to get rid of hunger pains, while others are beaten to death with sticks by off-duty police who are paid by the wealthy to form death squads. This is a common occurrence in Brasil. Maybe we will see it here someday too.

[raccoon]

26. I'm 50 something--hope I won't live to see that in the US. nt

[noonwitch]

28. Next time, find a cop

A cop will get CPS involved and the kid will get placed in a foster home until they find his parents or other relatives to take him in if the parents are not an option. The Salvation Army will call CPS, too, but the steps involved will then take longer than if the police call CPS.

I work in children's services in Michigan. The Salvation Army is a good organization and runs some great programs for children, but the legal system is really where to start in this type of situation. The cops will make sure the kid doesn't run away before they can get him helped, plus are in a better position to find the parents or other relatives (working with CPS).

Also, if he is a runaway, there may be a missing person's report and people looking for him. The police will find that out, too. The kid may be an exploited or abused child and again, that is a situation for the police to handle.

[Dr Fate]

35. Thanks- I hope I see him again tomorrow morning. n/t

n/t

[mdmc]

30. 33% of all homeless are children in Orange County, NY

SOmetimes kids are taken in to DSS custody. They run away from their foster homes. They are, in fact, homeless.

[Tsiyu]

31. Well, he should pull himself up by his bootstraps

Jeebus made him homeless becuz Jeebus doen't love him as much as he luvs little boys in tract homes.


And Dick Cheney and Halliburton need more money. Stop distracting us from important issues, Doc!

:sarcasm:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. Yes, there are plenty of throwaway children in America and

those whose homes are so abusive that sleeping in the alley is preferable to going home. :cry:

[KansDem]

37. I remember when we finally got recycling in my neighborhood...

The company that collected our trash also took on a recycling program. They dispersed recycling bins for us to use.

One trash day, I was going out to my car when I noticed an old clunker of an auto pull up and park across the street. A man, woman, and teen-aged girl (about 14-15 years old) got out of the car. The man started down one side of the street while the woman and girl started down the other side. They were pulling aluminum cans out of the bins.

They looked at me; I looked at them--nothing was said. They did their job quickly and had rather emotionless expressions on their faces.

I surmised this must have been a family who needed extra income.

[aikoaiko]

39. very sad -- nt

[Catherine Vincent]

40. That is just horrible.

You normally see that in other countries which is bad in itself. I know the US have it's share of homelessness and if it ever comes a time when children left by themsleves like that are homeless and it becomes a normal thing, then this country has definitely gone to schit.

[Sapphire Blue]

41. It takes a village; we had better start being the village.

This child shouldn't be alone.

[Beausoir]

42. Yes, I was aware. I know a family that regularly gets evicted in Houston.

They have nothing. They get locked out and because they have no car...they can't get to the shelter. Because they have no car, they have no where to sleep.