By Kia
Hello my name is Kia. I am 15 years old and work at the Young Women’s Project on a project that deals with homeless. Ever had to travel back and forth somewhere every morning and barley had a way to get there and really needed help? I live in DC General homeless shelter which is located in South East and when I went to school in Bell Multicultural high school which is located in North West. It was really hard to wake up in the morning and take the bus to and back from school. Even though dc general provided tokens it was still hard to be at school on time. Having to travel from south east to north west made it impossible for me to get to school on time . I had to catch three buses which was hectic. Just having to commute the long distance affected my ability to focus in school all I thought about was my housing situation which made me lose focus of my school work.
The main barrier for homeless youth obtaining an education is transportation, which is important because if there isn’t a way to get to school then it becomes difficult to have an education. This endangers the futures of youth and will end up costing tax payers much more money. Statistics show that youth who do not further their education became reliant upon the government for fiscal support.
I would like to see District Department Of Transportation need more specialized buses for homeless/disconnected youths and to pay for them to use the metro so that they can get to school faster in the morning.