The Richmond Outreach Center: Homelessness Affects Kids and Youth, Too
Online, June 25, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Every high school senior who plans to go to college has to go through many challenges to get to their university of choice. Whether they strive for to receive good grades, participate in extracurricular activities, develop portfolios or score high test scores, there are always obstacles to get a great education. However, for one North Carolina high school senior, Dawn Loggins, the challenges were much greater - she is homeless and has been abandoned by here parents. A recent CNN story chronicles her struggle and has raised awareness about homeless youth in America. The Richmond Outreach Center is one church that aims to reduce numbers of children without homes by encouraging education, devotional studies and athleticism.
The article details the many problems that Dawn faced while attending school. In fact, she and her brother attended many schools as her drug-abusing parents moved from town to town. Despite being behind in her education, Dawn worked tirelessly on her studies and participated in extracurricular activities. Eventually, she attended Burns High School in Lawndale, North Carolina, where she became a janitor to earn money to survive. She communicated her problems with her teachers: she did not have electricity to study, water to bathe or wash clothes and her parents were mostly absent from her life. While this may seem like an unlikely destiny for a child, The Richmond Outreach Center observes these issues on a daily basis through its many community-serving ministries.
According to CNN, Dawn received support, housing and food from her teachers, friends and community members to keep her dream of attending college alive. With that encouragement, she applied to Harvard and was accepted. Not only did she gain acceptance into one of the most
prized universities in the country, she received full tuition, housing and job assistance. Found of The Richmond Outreach Center, Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, notes this instance as a great example of how a community can build strong, optimistic individuals from the greatest problems in life.
The church, located in Richmond, Virginia, encourages local children to stay in school and has been cited as a major cause for reducing truancy in the high-crime metropolis. While Dawn Loggins was able to abstain from the drug use and criminal behavior her parents displayed, Aguilar notes that organizations like his must take action to intervene. "We know an important part of our job is reaching the next generation and if we don't, the lifestyles their parents have become accustomed to--drugs, violence, gangs, and other crimes--will become the norm for them, too. We look at it as an intervention--reaching the children before their circumstances mold them," says Aguilar.
ABOUT:
Founded in 2001, The Richmond Outreach Center has provided many Christian-based services to improve the community through health, education and spirituality. The organization has been credited for reducing crime in the Richmond area, as well as helping many needy families and homeless individuals who suffer from drug addiction, hunger and poor health. The Richmond Outreach Center strives to improve the lives of these people through genuine encouragement and passing on the values associated with the Christian faith.
For more information about The Richmond Outreach Center, visit www.theroc.com.