I recently worked on a story that literally left me sleepless. It was about homeless teens in Kansas City. Kids with no place to go. No family to look after them. Nobody to fret when they miss curfew.
That story aired Tuesday night on NBC Action News.
I went out on the streets with a group tasked with finding homeless teens and offering them help in the form of bus passes, fastfood gift cards, phone cards and/or shelter.
We rode around downtown KC in a maroon van with the letters S.O.S. on the side. Street Outreach Services. It's just one of the services Synergy Services offers.
I rode around with two fabulous workers, Chas Marks and Emily Miller. They are the bridge between federal funds and the kids those funds were set up to serve.
One of the places we visited, on one of the days I joined them, was a "drop-in" downtown. A drop-in is a place where homeless people can go during daytime hours to sit, talk, wash up, do laundry, iron their clothes, etc. Drop-ins typically don't serve food, and they don't have beds. It's a place to drop in during the day.
At this particular drop-in, I stood there...intimidated. Not sure how to have a conversation with anyone in the room. I stuck out. And that bothered me, because I'm supposed to be okay with being in the trenches, reporting the news.
The drop-in had a large gathering room in the center (approx.15 feet by 25 feet), with doors leading to about a dozen small rooms off the big one. Doors to a laundry room, a couple of very small half-baths, a couple of offices, and several more I couldn't see into. Emily disappeared through one of the office doors to talk with a young girl who'd stopped in for help. I was asked to wait in the gathering room while Emily learned more.
I observed, though, while I waited.
There were 20 men sitting at tables - talking, playing cards. Both white and black. None of them were clean-shaven, and few had clean clothes. They were all, I guessed, between the ages of 30-something and 60.
I watched as a tall, skinny, middle-aged black man washed his face in a half-bath right off the main gathering room. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt, and was washing his black apron out in the bathroom sink. He looked in the mirror and splashed water on his face, completely unaware I was watching. It seemed obvious to me he probably worked at a local restaurant and I couldn't help but wonder which one.
Soon, he was gone. Off to do whatever it is he does. I guessed he'd be back tomorrow, to wash his face and apron again. I still think about that man.
About that time, a woman walked in with a bag of fastfood. She was dressed in 3 or 4 layers of men's clothing; It was a cold day that day. She proceeded to sit down and peel off layers until she was down to a sweater that wasn't quite long enough to cover all of her torso and a pair of carhartt-like pants. She opened her bag of food to eat, seemingly ignoring all the men looking her way. I couldn't tell if they were looking at her or her food.
Emily walked out of the tiny office with a short, teenage girl - couldn't have been more than 15 or 16. The look on the girl's face is still burned into my mind. She was petrified. She didn't look at anyone in the room. Not the men, not the woman eating, not me. I smiled anyway. She seemed, to me, to have wet eyes...like maybe she'd been crying. She walked out of the building hurriedly, with Emily following.
I followed.
They went to the van and Emily gave the girl a couple of free bus passes, a couple of gift cards for Popeyes Chicken, and a phone card. Then, the girl simply walked off. It wasn't until she cleared the building and walked out of sight that I asked, a bit bewildered, "Where's she going?"
Emily shrugged with concern, and shook her head "She doesn't want to go to the shelter."
I spent the next 20 minutes learning more about 'the shelter'. When there, teens have to abide by rules. They have to be in by a certain time, they have to go through certain training to try and help them straighten their lives out, their phone time is restricted. They also have to live in an area suburb, where the shelter is located. Most teens, who are familiar with the streets of Kansas City, are sometimes more afraid of quiet, restricted suburban life than they are of being alone on the streets.
We climbed back in our van and drove.
We visited parks where teens are known to hang out. One kid admitted being homeless but said he had a job, so was fine.
Another said he knew someone.
I was still thinking about the young woman at the drop-in.
I still am.
It is common for people unfamiliar with the homeless population to judge. "Well, they probably ran away because they didn't want to follow their parents rules." Or, "they were probably hellyuns and got booted for good reason".
The fact is, the majority of teens on the streets today came from abusive or neglectful homes. A good number of them report physical, emotional and sexual abuse as their reason for leaving. Many of these teens flee because they're fearful or fed up. They flee because an uncertain life on the streets is a better option than staying home.
There are approximately 2000 homeless teens on any given night in Kansas City.
Two thousand too many.
And you can help. Here's how:
Contact Synergy Services to see how you can help. They are always in need of money, bus passes, fastfood gift cards, phone cards, etc. Here's a list of the services they provide.
Visit the S.O.S. myspace page to show your support.
More Information:
Teens for Jeans was a recent drive to collect used jeans for teens, and Synergy received a major shipment. They are handing them out as they come across teens who need clothing.
Do Something