The day has come. I'm prepping for my internship this Spring, which begins tomorrow. To all my friends, I'll see you in May. I just decided I'm going to plan a phatty trip, preferably road trip this summer. Nothing beats the road, unless it's a short trip to another city in Texas. I'm talking state border crossings .. and many of them.
Anyways, I'm interning for the CEO of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. Apparently, I'm assigned to assist him in writing plans to end homelessness in Dallas, for women and children. These next four months, I want to make those around me aware, just like I'm becoming aware of homelessness in Dallas. I've had maybe 2 cases of homeless children. One was heartbreaking and of most recent. The mother had been sleeping in her car for days. She came in crying - beautiful young mother, with her two boys. Broken, lost, and straight up broke. A week before Christmas ... too. With the help of a coworker, we got her several bags packed of food, clothes and blankets, found her a shelter, and I filled up her tank all within an hour. I think I cried that day.
Apart from those two cases, I have no relationship to homelessness. North Texas Food Bank's marketing strategies triggers the population with sayings in the realm of "We are all one pay check away from being homeless" or "In July, he was a full time employee and by September, he was on the streets - hungry, homeless" SO TRUE. I hope to work hands on with an individual that is homeless, and I guess.. expand my abilities and write some planning for Big Dallas and homelessness. I feel unprepared for this avenue of Social Work, but looks like I'm not calling the shots.
Some facts, as I study:
- Women and children are the largest population that are homeless in Dallas
- DISD has enrolled over 4100 new homeless children in 2008 - 2009 (ugh/tear)
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