Homeless Teens – Part 1

On the Kenai Peninsula, it’s rare to find a homeless person wandering around. This doesn’t mean that our part of Alaska was immune to homelessness.

There were a few shelters, but many of the Peninsula’s homeless tended to couch-surf, live in their vehicles or put up a tent in the woods on the outskirts of town. If they truly must live on the street, they often found their way to Anchorage where population is higher.

A few times each month, I would help out a local non-profit that assisted at risk youth find employment. Through this organization, I heard that there were many teens in our area who were also couch-surfing, living in tents or out of their vehicles.

Soon enough, I found myself in a meeting with the school board’s Homeless Teen Liaison. She explained that there were over 100 teens registered as homeless within her program.

These students committed to attending school, and in turn receive breakfast and lunch during the school year. This provided some preventive measures against the teens skipping school all together.

‘Through the summer months they got by fairly well, with warm weather, long days and high tourism traffic. There seemed to be ample opportunity for them to fend for themselves. Alternately, winters were tough!

The Liaison explained that during the Christmas break, the cafeteria is closed like the rest of the school. Therefore, the teens face some harsh challenges.

Not only must they find food for two weeks, but Alaska in December is cold and dark. Not to mention, the psychological ramifications that come with being homeless during a time when family is promoted and enjoyed everywhere.

These teens were a part of our community.

Something had to be done.

It was nearing the end of November; just under a month before Christmas. It would be a challenge, but Pastor Keith was more than on board. We felt a buzz of excitement that can only come from taking on a Gospel-driven challenge like this.

That Sunday we put a call out to the congregation. We were going to aim for 130 boxes, to provide one for each teen under the Liaison’s care, as well as some extras.

We gave each attendee a list of non-perishable items to be placed into a box roughly the size of an apple box (20’ x 12’ x 8’). The sizing guidelines would provide easier transport and prevent jealousy among the teens.

As per the Liaison’s instructions:

The box must be able to close, though gifts or winter clothing items were acceptable to fill any empty space. Cards or notes were permitted as long as no personal information nor money were included.

Once filled, each box should be dropped off at the church office one week before the start of Christmas break. This way, the Liaison would have the time needed to distribute the boxes before the school closed.

We knew we were asking for a lot, but the call to help these teens was so clear. God was about to do something truly amazing!

*Check back tomorrow for Homeless Teens – Part 2.

Join the Conversation, Share Your Thoughts:

Has your church ever been a part of a homeless ministry or project? Who did it target and how did it work?