Meet Latresia
Latresia and her two-year-old son, Jayden, are ICH’s newest residents. After living in an emergency shelter for two years, her dream has finally come true — she will be moving into her very first apartment next month.
It is always a pleasure to meet residents, but I will admit this was my first time to meet such a recent addition to the ICH family. I am blessed to hear the stories of how long residents had waited for homes and how excited they were to finally get their keys; but never had I witnessed firsthand the process that will eventually change the life of a women and her child.
As Latresia and Jayden sat in my office, her joy and appreciation were contagious. Her excitement was bubbling over and you could see the anticipation in her eyes. I was unable to remove a smile from my face while she was visiting with me. This was a woman that was not only excited for herself, but had such high hopes for her son who has known nothing but an emergency shelter. Wow.
Mothers across America always want the best for their children, and those children deserve it, but none of them want their children to live in a shelter for two years.
Jayden will be lucky and succeed, but without the support that ICH can provide Latresia and her family, the odds are frightening. Homeless children are:
• 9x more likely to repeat a grade,
• 4x more likely to drop out of school,
• 3x more likely to be placed in a special education program and
• 2x more likely to score lower on standardized tests than their non‐homeless peers.
In addition, homeless children suffer from serious health issues such as:
• hunger and malnutrition,
• developmental delays,
• psychological problems and
• gaps in educational achievement compared to non‐homeless children.
To make all of this worse, half of all children living in emergency shelters are under five years old. With statistics like this, how can we break the cycle of homelessness? We can do it by providing real homes and the support families’ need to reach self-sufficiency. We can make an effort, once families are housed, to reach out to children and ensure they have the assets they need to thrive.
This is what ICH believes and practices every day. Real homes and the tools families need to reach success. Not just Mom and Dad, but everyone. Support our efforts by contributing to ICH today: www.ichchicago.org or calling me at 773.265.1207.
Thank you,
Brandon Combs
Director of Development
