Dear Next President,

First off, congratulations on the big win, the race was hard but you made it. I would like to introduce myself, my name is Destiny and I’m from San Antonio, Texas. I would like to bring attention to the issues with homelessness in America. This has recently came to my attention, due to all the posts I have noticed online. I have done quite a bit of research and this is what I found:

The amount of homeless individuals has increased 12% in the past two years. The reason this is happening is by the increase of home prices and the price of rent. Also, by low wages and high unemployment. 700,000 people were homeless per night in the late 1990s and 610,000 per night in the early 2010s. A survey made in 1994 found that 12 million Americans had experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.

For my first example; Children and Teens. One in 30 children are homeless and a total of 2.5 million all around the country. Homeless children are typically part of a family headed by a single mother in her 20s without much education and frequently out of a job. Many mothers avoid going to shelters for as long as possible because they don’t want to expose their children to shelter life or they are afraid the family will be split up. Some homeless youth are on their own, while others are separated from their families who also are homeless. By law, federally funded shelters can’t turn away families with boys older than 10 or 12. Privately funded shelters can and do turn them away, breaking up families, leaving teens to fend for themselves. I don’t see the reason why shelters take in only certain ages. Each shelter should take in all ages, if they have an open bed.

According to the NCFH report, homeless kids are more likely to be hungry or sick and be mentally ill. They are more likely to struggle in school, miss classes, repeat grades and eventually drop out. Fifty-one percent of kids without a permanent home are under age 6. “Child homelessness has reached epidemic proportions in America,” said Carmela DeCandia, director of National Center on Family Homelessness.

Also, veterans are homeless and living on the streets. How can the United States let the men and women that put their lives on the line live on the streets? These men and women more than likely aren’t by themselves, some have a spouse and children they need to take care of. Some United citizens don’t believe it when a sign reads “I lost my leg serving for my country, please help, you will be blessed”. Some believe that it’s just someone that needs the money for drugs, but never have I seen some take in consideration that they probably, more than likely they have served for our country.

Last but not least, I would like to draw attention to Animal cruelty. I’ve noticed, our veterans and specialized children have service animals. My problem with this is, if all of these children and veterans are homeless, so are these animals. The pets will not get the proper care that they need. The laws want to crack down so hard on Animal cruelty, but I haven’t seen anyone try and help these homeless individuals with the care of their pets. So I believe that we as a nation if not the communities should find a way to fix this issue.

I hope you understand where I’m coming from Mr. /Mrs. President. I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my letter and I hope it makes somewhat of an impact on the way America is at this point in time!

Sincerely,

Destiny