Orange County, with its beaches and nice weather, is much more than a spot for tourists - it has become a national magnet for homeless teens.
Beaches are an attractive place for teens to “crash” – the coastline provides a place to hang out and sleep, working bathrooms, good weather and the beauty of the ocean.
The problem of homeless teens has become so big that, according to the Orange County Department of Education, approximately 30,000 local children were homeless or living in substandard conditions during the 2013-14 school year. This includes children who live “doubled up” with other families in small apartments, and kids who live with their parents in motels, vehicles or campsites.
The most vulnerable of these kids are runaways, teens who are victims of sex trafficking, and teens who have been kicked out, who are “couch hopping” at friends’ homes or whose parents have “moved on.”
For the past decade, the Huntington Beach Youth Shelter has given many of these homeless kids a safe place to live, heal and learn the skills they need to succeed.
“We help these kids learn the skills they need to stay safe, move forward and develop their potential,” Greenfield said. “We teach them to feel successful.”
The shelter’s primary goals are to put families safely back together and keep teens out of institutions.
“The typical kid we see is low-income, suffering from depression and may be experimenting with drugs,” Greenfield said. “These kids need a support system. We give that to them.”
The house can hold up to 12 kids at a time, many of them referred to the shelter by police, hospitals, community centers or schools. Some are runaways, while others are LGBT teens who were kicked out of their homes by parents or guardians who could not accept their sexuality.
All meals are eaten together at the communal table, and every resident has chores, including helping with cooking and cleaning.
Food menus for the month are posted in the kitchen. Knowing what they are going to eat far in advance gives residents – many of whom have gone hungry in the past – peace of mind.
“A lot of the kids here have never had a family meal,” Greenfield said. “Within a few days those meals become the most memorable and important part of their stay here.”
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