HomeFront’s Back to School Drive the Key To Helping Kids Feel Comfortable Day One
To the Editor:
Over the years, HomeFront has expanded its breadth of services to address the many issues surrounding homelessness and the cycle of poverty, however, our Back to School drive, one of our first community efforts for specifically selected clothing, shoes, and school supplies, has always resonated with me in a special way. Everyone agrees that education is the key to climbing out of poverty and, for kids, feeling comfortable in school is the first step to education.
In her best-selling non-fiction account of childhood homelessness and poverty, Etched in Sand, author Regina Calcaterra recounts the horrors of “dumpster diving” for school clothes by literally being lowered into trash dumpsters to dig around for rags that she and her siblings could wear, and then facing the jeers and laughter from her classmates that was prompted by her appearance. Kids who find themselves born into homelessness and poverty have more to deal with in their home lives on a daily basis than many of us do as adults. In addition, they need to somehow find the focus and concentration to achieve in school, as it is their only hope for a different future.
Our Back to School drive gives these kids a chance to feel comfortable in school and present themselves to their peers and teachers on that all important first day, not as a homeless child, but as a child who is like everybody else, worthy of friendship and respect and ready to learn. And, as any parent out there knows, that first day usually sets the tone of the whole year. I can’t think of a more meaningful and practical way to help a child begin their journey out of poverty than to give them the gift of comfort and self-esteem so they can concentrate on learning and growing.
Another strong theme in Etched in Sand is the power that single acts of kindness, and “good touches,” can have in the lives of homeless children. Your willingness to make sure a child feels proud on the first day of school will mean more to him or her than you can possibly imagine.
Please help us this year.
Connie Mercer
Executive Director, HomeFront