Georgia Mjartan
It was a Saturday morning, and twelve 16- and 17-yearolds were up early visiting Our House as part of their
leadership program. These were the select few who,
out of a pool of 200+ high school students in the Little
Rock Mayor’s Youth Council, had made it into the core
leadership group. They were studying issues relevant
to the city. The program culminates in a cultural
exchange trip to South Korea.
This day the group was learning about issues of housing
and homelessness. My presentation focused on the
devastating effects that homelessness can have on
children. I passed around a handout with some heartwrenching statistics: homeless children are 12 times
more likely to enter the foster care system than nonhomeless children, 80% of homeless children have
seen at least one serious violent event, homeless
children are 4 times more likely to repeat a grade.
My point was not to shock these students. Instead,
I wanted them to see that programs like ours—with
help from volunteer mentors and youth leaders like
them—can turn that tide of bad outcomes into positive
futures for homeless young people.
A few minutes into my presentation, I paused to ask if
any of the students had been to Our House before. Four
raised their hands. “What brought you to our campus?”
I asked. A young man raised his hand. “I came with my
church group.” The next said, “I volunteered out here.”
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