Why sharing stories about youth homelessness is impactful.
The stories we hear as young children are impactful- they instill us with morals, anecdotes about life, and a better understanding of the world around us. When the stories we hear as children neglect to mention vulnerable populations, it encourages ignorance towards pressing social issues. Youth who have experienced homelessness deserve to have their experiences shared through mediums that amplify their voice and personhood, rather than ones that reduce them to mere statistics.
Youth who have experienced homelessness have lived through hardships and difficult circumstances that others may fail to understand, simply as a result of ignorance. Resultingly, others may fail to treat them with respect, empathy, and kindness that they deserve. Storytelling is impactful in sharing the experiences that youth endure while homeless, and is an accessible medium for young children to learn about the topic as well.
There are a number of books that delve into the topic of youth homelessness, with intended audiences ranging from young children to adults. Most recently, the Kingston chapter of the BOP has been working on an initiative to create a children's book. This book is targeted towards children aged 6-8, and follows the struggles that a youth endures in school as a result of their family’s experience with homelessness. We believe that a key component in reducing the stigma against youth who are homeless is to target and correct the spread of misinformation in younger generations. We hope that producing a book that discusses the challenges that a homeless youth may encounter on a daily basis will provide children with a new perspective, and inspire younger generations to care.
While our book is still in its production stages and is currently not available, there are still a number of resources available to learn about this topic. We have compiled a list of other excellent children’s books that share stories about youth homelessness.
Recommendations:
A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story by Erin Gunti and Estelí Meza
Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Birdie’s Billions by Edith Cohn
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
We look forward to being able to share our children’s book with you when the time comes! In the meantime, we encourage you to explore and share the above stories with the children in your life. Educating young children on the topic of youth homelessness encourages them to care about the world around them, and stories are the perfect medium to do so.
Written by the Education Team at Bags of Promise
Co-Heads, Mehak Khangura and Zaynab Karimjee
Education Officer, Hayley Kersten
