TOP 10 THINGS I WISH I HAD WHEN I WAS HOMELESS

 1. Mini clean-up kit (i.e. toothbrush and tooth paste, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, etc).

 2. New under garments (i.e. bras, panties, socks, etc.)

 3. Bus pass

 4. Cell phone

 5. Pair of Hot Hands

 6. Tube of lip balm

 7. Back pack or nap sack

 8. Pad and pencil

 9.  Jar of Vaseline

10. Hand sanitizer

Homeless for the Holidays

“We don’t feed your kind here,” is what the concierge of a downtown Milwaukee hotel spa after I asked for a muffin or a piece of fruit the morning of Christmas Eve. The concierge was referring to our invisible homeless population when she referred to “your kind.”

Being a young single woman on the streets of Milwaukee is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.  From December 23 to December 26, 2011, I spent 72 hours on the streets of Milwaukee as an experiment to fathom how our local homeless population is treated by a myriad of community groups. I left the experiment overwhelmed, disheartened and disappointed. I was overwhelmed at the number of homeless people in Milwaukee that, until this experience I consciously ignored to avoid a play at my morality. I was disheartened by the experiment due to the continuous feelings of rejection and not belonging. I understood how people could learn to hate, distrust and simply become desensitized to the normal sensitivities of humanity. I was most disappointed by our current system that’s designed to help those in need. As a single woman, with no vices or addictions and no children, I found myself homeless for the holidays. For a population of nearly 600,000 residents, there were only two shelters that would assist my demographic.

My experiment was a byproduct of my graduate thesis on youth homelessness in Milwaukee. The basic thought of a homeless youth is absurd. The rate of youth homelessness in Milwaukee is dismal and is increasing.  On average, per night, more than 400 youth don’t have a place to call home.  Pathfinders, a Milwaukee homeless youth service organization, notes that “each night over 400 youth are homeless in Milwaukee. Some find shelter with friends and extended family. Half don’t find the shelter they seek and only 16 emergency beds exist in our community.”

These youth are very vulnerable. Fundamentally meeting their basic needs is at risk. One-third will trade sex for food or shelter within three days of living on the streets. According to the Polaris Project, a national organization to end sex trafficking, 75% of homeless youth will end-up being trafficked. The long term consequences in terms of educational achievement, substance abuse, violence, and mental health are staggering. With a spiraling economy local agency client intake is up more than 20%.

While I was homeless for 72 hours what weighed heaviest was the idea of youth attempting to play an adult game of survival. I had an expiration date of when my homeless circumstance would end; however, our youth have difficulty seeing past tomorrow. In alignment with the American Association of University Women’s (AAUW) mission to support and empower women and girls, let’s make a vast local impact by an in-kind contribution or making a monetary gift to our youth in need. For more information on how you can impact change locally, please visit www.pathfindersmke.org and check-out Rayna’s Top 10 List. If you choose to make a monetary gift on-line on March 8, your gift will be matched by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Match Day. More information on Match Day can be found on the Pathfinders website.

The kindest moments I experienced while being homeless were from those who were able to see me as a valuable human being. Let’s add value to our future by investing in our youth.