Fighting Teen Homelessness

Black people in Illinois are 4.5 times more likely than White people to experience homelessness. From surfing couches to sleeping in shelters, more than 54,235 Illinois students experience homelessness. Many of them attend high school during the day and then struggle with housing insecurity at night. My focus as the Mid-Western Region's Teen Foundation Chair was to fight teen homelessness. 

The teens of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., South Suburban Chicago Chapter (SSCC) joined me in standing in solidarity with our peers who are facing housing insecurities. I hosted a two-part series to help build empathy and awareness, raise funds, and collect toiletries to fight teen homelessness in Illinois. In November 2022, I hosted the first installment of our two-part Sleep Out Saturday Series at my home. 

It was during the winter, with frigid temperatures, and the heat was turned off. We slept on the basement floor in sleeping bags, participated in a teen homelessness workshop, created a video about teen homelessness, ate soup and sandwiches, and solicited support from family and friends for our annual Double Good Popcorn fundraiser. Together, we sold more than $39,000 worth of popcorn! The monies we raised provided supplies for teens without homes and supported the Jack and Jill Foundation. The next morning, the group had breakfast with our parents, sharing our empathic and insightful reflections on our experiences.

The final installment of the series occurred in May 2023 at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. From 4:30 pm-8:30 pm, the teens of SSCC and I hosted a community-wide drive to collect full-size toiletries (e.g., tissue, soap, body wash, textured hair products, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, sanitary napkins, deodorant, hairbrushes, combs, detergent, and gift cards). We surpassed our goal of raising $10,000 in donations from the community. 

I arranged for representatives from Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness (a statewide resource serving over 125,000 people and 600 communities), Reclaim13, and Respond Now to be on-site to accept the toiletries and gift cards on behalf of the teens they support. Following the toiletry drive, we hosted a private event featuring Christine Haley, the Chief of Homelessness for the State of Illinois, who facilitated an informative workshop aimed at desensitizing the stigma surrounding teen homelessness. The mayor of the Village of Flossmoor, Michelle Nelson, toured our event and shared words of encouragement. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon and Rich Township Clerk Arlene M "Sugar" Al-Amin shared insights and inspirational words.  That night, the teens of SSCC and I slept overnight on the gym floor of Homewood-Flossmoor High School in solidarity with our peers in crisis. The event ended with early morning reflections on the experience and impact of the entire series of events. We were proud. We made a positive impact! 

See the pictures and write-up from H-F Chronicle Newspaper.