On a rainy Thursday in November, I spent a night on the streets. No matter how many layers I had on, I was still uncomfortably cold. But I was grateful that I was in Los Angeles rather than New York, D.C. or Anchorage, where temperatures were below freezing. What kept me up most of the night, beyond my nerves, was the realization that this is the plight of so many fellow Americans, especially our youth and veterans. Two and a half million people under age 18 live on the streets, 500,000 in California alone. Sixty percent of them left home due to abuse. Others found themselves homeless after aging out of the foster care system.
Life on the Streets
Through Covenant House International, I joined 1,000 other executives around the United States to raise awareness of and funding for youth homelessness. This experience was humbling and troubling at the same time. We were homeless for only 12 hours and then got to return to our comfortable lives. I spent long minutes lying on the two flattened cardboard boxes we were allowed, startled awake by a raccoon hiding in a bush just inches from my head. Yet only 90 minutes later, I had a delicious hot latte in my hands.
Now that the holiday season is in full swing, I want you to imagine the following: Instead of being surrounded by your loved ones, you are alone on the dark streets of Los Angeles or any other sprawling city. There are no familiar or trustworthy faces nearby, no one calling to see when you will arrive and nowhere to call “home.” You often have little or no food, and your stomach aches. You sleep in all kinds of weather: rain, cold, extreme heat. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who have a blanket or sleeping bag. But even so, the city’s noises are so loud, they pierce your ears and prohibit sleep. You are flooded by fluorescent light; suffocated by the smell of urine, unwashed bodies and clothing; and terrified that the next stranger you see might be desperate enough to make you their prey. This goes on all night long, even though your body is utterly exhausted and needs to be restored. If you’re employed, you have to go to your job tomorrow, your only chance to get off the streets. I know how I feel after too short a night, even in my comfortable bed and with a full stomach. Now imagine this is your reality each and every night, and that you are still a child or teenager.
The Suffering in Our Own Backyard
Abacus invests and advises clients in ways that have impact all over the world, but I signed up for the Covenant House experience so that I could try to see what suffering feels like in my own backyard. I don’t share this with you to provoke guilt or shame, but rather because in-the-field experiences, whether in Kenya, Bangladesh or Skid Row, have inspired me to use my skills as a financial advisor to make a difference for others. I hope my detailed account has given you a small taste of what it might be like to be a homeless youth in America.
I am tremendously grateful to have so much to be thankful for in my life, and I wish you and yours a very happy and healthy holiday season.
