I spent Thursday afternoon in the office of the Homeless Liaison of the Kansas City, Kansas School District. Her name is Staci Pratt. She’s been working with homeless students for almost a decade and in our two hour meeting she told me real life stories that broke my heart and left me with the certainty that I must do something.
What that something looks like….well, let’s just say I’m figuring it out. I have a lot to learn.
Apparently there is a relatively new law in Kansas that prohibits the state from taking children (ages 16-18) into foster care unless there is proven physical, or sexual abuse. In some cases, even when abuse is known, the state does not act (probably at least part of the reason is a lack of resources). The result is that there are now 30 childen in KCK School District who are homeless. Some are lucky enough to find a shelter. Most live on the street, or on a friend’s couch.
The hard part is that these kids really want to graduate. They have dreams for a future.
So what will I do? Well, my family and I are praying about the possibility of hosting one of these teens. I also talked with a family at our church who have a heart for foster kids. We’re developing a plan to learn how others are meeting this need around the country (St. Louis, Milwaukee, Los Angeles). We have a lot to learn.
Maybe a year from now this will all result in the establishment of a “New Hope Children’s Home” in KCK. (Do you know about or orphanages in India and Thailand?) I don’t know what the answer is, I just know we have to do something. Which means, I have to do something.
