Dear President Elect,

Homelessness is the condition of people without a permanent house or apartment. Me and my family used to be homeless. When I was about 9 or 10 my family and I lived in a homeless shelter. We lived in a small room with two bunkbeds.. We were lucky enough to even get a spot in the shelter. It was full 24/7 with women and children. Now I live in San Diego with my dad and stepmom in a house, but every time that I go into the city and I see homeless people and families and it makes me want to help them. Or at least try and make others aware of this growing problem.

The National Center on family homelessness estimates 1.6 million children will experience homelessness this year, making up one-third of the homeless population. Shelters do not accept entire families except women and children. This separates families and makes men sleep on the streets. Most shelters are just open nighttime to morning so women and young children must spend their days on the streets. In the United States, about 50 percent of the homeless population is 600,000 families with 1.35 million children. Domestic violence is the leading cause among homeless women and children. It’s estimated that about 50,000 teens sleep on the streets for half or more a year. That’s just right. Imagine your children were on the streets and you could do something but you don’t. You just walk buy without looking.

Utah has come up with a solution. Or at least a temporary one. Utah’s housing facilities for the homeless are a great way to help keep people off the streets. They had nearly 2,000 people in 2005, to fewer than 200 now. They dropped by 91 percent. There are some people still on the streets waiting for an opening in the program. Another solution might be to start opening up more homeless shelters and more housing facilities for people who are having trouble getting a job or were evicted because they were $10 short on rent.

A Student,

Contessa Siddons