Jennifer Griffin
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Stacey Riemer The purpose of my project is to raise awareness on the topic of youth homelessness in North Carolina and to propose increasing statewide support of this population through creating safe spaces and providing resources. The project was inspired by the week I spent volunteering with a homeless shelter in Atlanta, Georgia. While this shelter was not designed specifically for homeless youth, I spent much of the week interacting with the children of the mothers who were the primary residents. These interactions, paired with my experience working with children from low socioeconomic families, some of whom did and continue to face the threat of losing their home, spurred my interest of wanting to further understand the situation that homeless youth face in my home state. I encourage all North Carolina public schools, with an emphasis on public schools in a rural areas, to develop or adopt a program specifically for supporting homeless students, including students at risk of becoming homeless.