Thursday, September 29, 2011

Needs of homeless children

If you follow my blog, you may have been wondering where I’ve been for the past several weeks. My excuse is that there’s just too much to do and too little time. Part of the “too much to do” are the grants we’ve been writing and submitting to private foundations. In writing about the needs of homeless families, I’m reminded of the serious challenges homeless children – our children – face.

Research shows that homeless children are twice as likely as middle class children to have moderate to severe acute and chronic health problems. Half of homeless children have witnessed or experienced violence in their lives so it’s understandable that half of homeless school-age children have problems with anxiety and depression and 20% of homeless preschoolers have emotional disturbances that require professional care. Homeless children are four times more likely to have delayed development and behavioral disorders. These needs describe our youngest residents, but despite their serious challenges our children are exceptionally bright and fun-loving and just need a stable healing environment in which to grow and develop to their full potential. Hope Alive offers just that to our children. Once a family finds stability at Hope Alive, the changes that God brings to their lives are amazing.

To hear about this incredible life-change, I invite you to join us at our upcoming Resident Achievement Banquet on Thursday, October 13 at Dutch’s Daughter starting at 6pm. It’s a wonderful celebration of our residents’ inspirational progress and an evening of fabulous food and fellowship. Visit our website or call to reserve your seat today.

We’re also excited about our upcoming Help the Homeless Mini-Walks and hope you can join us on:

Sunday, October 16 for the Hope Alive Mini Walk on our beautiful nature trail in Sabillasville. Join us anytime between 1-4pm at the Hope Alive property for a short walk and to better understand the journeys of homeless families.

Saturday, October 22 at the Hope Alive Corn Maze at Crumland Farms in Frederick between 10am and 3pm for lots of fun on their twisty turny corn maze.

Visit our website to link to the online registration or to download a walker registration for the walk of your choice. You can always register at the walk and every walker will receive a free t-shirt!

Thanks for reading! Until next week …

Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director