The dictionary defines "home" as a place of residence. But for a girl without one, home is not a structure; it is a memory of warmth she is desperately trying not to forget.
Last I heard, Layla found a transitional living program. She got the locker. She got the address. She starts community college in the fall. Girl And Homeless -RJ01174495-
Unlike the stereotypical image of homelessness—an older man, a shopping cart, a bottle in a bag—the homeless girl is a master of camouflage. She stays clean in gas station bathrooms. She charges her phone in the library. She wears her backpack like a turtle wears its shell: protection against a world that steps on soft things. The dictionary defines "home" as a place of residence
A bridge to a shower. A locker for her backpack so she can go to a job interview. An address to put on a college application. A social worker who doesn't hang up at 5:01 PM. She got the locker
In a world that often looks past the homeless, we look through young women. We assume a system will catch them. We assume a shelter has a bed. We assume wrong.
"Why a book?" I finally asked her.