The less fortunate kids

42% of children in New Orleans live in poverty.

42%.

I can't wrap my head around that statistic.

Nearly 1 in 2 children I see scurrying around the streets in New Orleans go home to scarce food, minimal clothing, over-crowded rooms, etc. Sometimes, the children don't have a home to go to at all. These children are either living in a car, an abandoned building, an emergency shelter, or out on the streets.

My childhood was amazing—and I’m not saying that to brag, I’m saying it to try to put this stat into perspective. I had plenty of toys to play with (probably more than any child should have), I had a pool and a bicycle, roller skates and a Barbie car, my own room, a television in the family room, a computer in the basement, an endless collection of Beanie Babies and Pogs, all of the American Girl dolls that were made at the time, plenty of food and snacks in the cabinet, and much, much more. I went on vacation every year with my family to the Dude Ranch, and sometimes I would go visit my grandparents in Florida, or my best friend in Cape Cod. When I was a pre-teen we bought our shore house. When I was 17 I had my own car. I also had my entire education paid for by my parents—including a private elementary school and high school.

I’ve been privileged, and I hope that everyone reading this is reminiscing on their childhood memories, thinking back on what toys they unwrapped under the Christmas tree, or how the floor of your room was adorned with action figured and Barbies, or how that trip to Disney was one of the best weeks of your life.

It pains me that 42% of the children in New Orleans have nowhere near what I had as a child, or what most of you had as children—not even a small percentage of it.

Although New Orleans’ percentage is a lot higher than the national average, the percentage of children living in poverty in the US is still a painful number. In 2011, 22% of American children lived in poverty. That’s 16.1 million children. 16.1 million. Since 2000, the national number of poverty-stricken children has increased by 4.5 million.

The reason these statistics bother me so much is that when I explain what I do, a lot of people argue that the clients we help should be working and that they shouldn’t rely on handouts. And those arguments are correct in many cases. However, you cannot argue that for a child. These children are helpless, and sometimes hopeless. They shouldn’t be punished for their parents’ mistakes. But not all of the parents are unemployed, and not all of them rely on handouts. Nearly two-thirds of poor families with children have at least one working family member.

Most of the parents are trying. And that’s what pains me. They’re trying to give their children the life that they didn’t have. But when they can’t afford an education, it’s hard to nail down a job. And many will argue “they can take out a loan for college.” Yes, that’s true. But then they are left with the situation of finding time for classes whilst taking care of their children, and then finding a job, and then paying back their massive student loan debt, all while figuring out how to pay rent and continue to put food on the table, and enrolling their children in school themselves. Another stat to add to the mix: 40.9% of poor families are single-mother families. So on top of everything that normal families have to juggle, nearly half of these families need to also worry about someone watching their children while they take these classes or go to their jobs.

It’s obvious that these children’s lives are already a lot different than mine was back then (and now). It pains me that these innocent little adorable things are struggling day to day with luxuries that were simply handed to me. A lot of them are stronger than I will ever be, a lot of them will overcome their circumstances and their poverty, a lot of them will succumb to it, and a lot of them will continuously be searching for a way out—a way to eat, a way to be clothed, a way to have shelter, and simply a way to live.