Today I went to the theaters to watch The Soloist, a movie I’ve been looking forward to seeing. I’m a fan of films that portray important issues and always excited when the filmmakers encourage viewers not just to be aware, but to act. So I was honored to be a guest blogger for TakePart.

The issue of homelessness is one that I have wrestled with for many years. Like many others I have lived in urban areas and encountered what I deem to be the most visible form of homelessness and that is associated with mental illness. I was encouraged that the film shows the relationship of a regular guy who wants to make a difference and doesn’t let stigma get in the way. As is true to life, I’m not sure that there is one answer to the problem.

Today however, I wanted to highlight another side of homeless that is prevalent, but not often talked about. That is the issue of child homelessness which happens to be a big problem and on the rise in Orange County where I work at Giving Children Hope.

You’ve seen the stereotypical images of “The O.C.”—from Disneyland to Laguna Beach, we are portrayed as the wealthy. But if you dig just below the surface you’ll find that child homelessness permeates the county and is only on the rise.

The 2006 County Community Indicators Report puts homeless in Orange County only behind Detroit. It states:

When compared to peer regions, Orange County has the highest estimated number of homeless, 11.7 per 1,000 residents. This is according to a summary report by the Weingart Institute that presents findings from independent studies conducted in selected U.S. cities and counties.

And according to “America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness” by The National Center on Family Homelessness: One in 50 American children were homeless in 2005-2006 and 11 percent of American children living in poverty are homeless.

In Orange County we have a lack of affordable housing for the many low-wage earners, and this has caused many families to be living in their cars, in the armories, or in month-to-month motels. No matter what the case, these families are all lacking a stable living situation and often dealing with the issue of food insecurity.

As an organization, Giving Children Hope (GCHope) is focused on supplying nonprofits, domestically and internationally, with the medicines, supplies and medical equipment they need and has a program that works directly with US free clinics. However, as an organization we felt called to do more in our own county to address the issue of homelessness. So in our assessment of the situation we started a weekly feeding program for homeless children called “We’ve Got Your Back.” While low-income and homeless children are provided free meals for breakfast and lunch during the school week, the big problem was these children were going hungry over the weekends.

One of the important things to consider when working with children is to ensure you aren’t creating a stigma when you care for them. For this reason, all of the children in our program enroll in what they know only as Nutrition Club. GCHope works with the school nurse who identifies the children and acts as the site coordinator. Every week those children show up for Nutrition Club, where they receive worksheets to learn about nutrition and leave with a back-pack filled with nutritionally balanced, motel-friendly food to last them and their families over the weekend.

In talking with school nurses and principals after children have been in the program for a few weeks, the reports are stellar. Children are more attentive in the classroom and less withdrawn. Recently, a single mom in our program who was living in her car was able to move into permanent housing. She attributes this to the fact that the provision of food for her children every week enabled her to save enough money to get into permanent housing.

The We’ve Got Your Back program is just part of the solution to the homeless crisis in our country. It takes many hands to take part in combating hunger and homelessness. That means that it also takes YOURS. Until we all feel responsible for the issue and decide to take action, things won’t change. So I encourage you to find out the needs in your community and then get involved and do something about it.

If you’d like to get more involved with Giving Children Hope and our program to combat childhood hunger you can:

* host a food drive to collect food that will be distributed to the children

* volunteer in our warehouse where we weekly pack the backpacks that go to the kids

* sponsor a child for a year

* participate in our walk-a-thon on May 16 to raise awareness

* or come up with an idea of your own