In a report from Sunday Hour on February 28, 2010, which included information from a state report on child homelessness called Americas Youngest Outcasts, we learn that one in 50 children in America are homeless. One and a half million children are homeless each year and of the 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans who are homeless each year, 34 percent are families. &bsp;

More than 18,597 of North Carolinas children experience homelessness each year, according to the data collected by the McKinney-Vento Educational Programs.&bsp; North Carolina ranks 32nd in the number of homeless children and 14th in the percentage of children who are homeless. Of the 443,000 children living in poverty in North Carolina, one out of every 25 (4 percent) are homeless.

Housing is a basic right and essential for the healthy growth and development of children. However, in every state, housing costs outpace wages and public assistance for low income citizens.

The U.S Department of Agriculture estimates that one in 22 of North Carolinas households have very low food security, indicating that they have experienced hunger. The prevalence of very low food security in North Carolina is higher than the national average of one in 26. Households living in poverty and headed by a single woman with children are especially vulnerable to very low food security. When these households become homeless, they represent the extreme end of the food insecurity range in North Carolina.

Under the Thermal Belt Outreach backpack program we currently provide week-end food for 250 children, plus we have a waiting list. We would like to thank each of you who contribute to this program. Without your help we would not be able to feed these children each week. Plus, in March we provided food to 190 families from our food pantry.

Four government nutrition programs are so vital to childrens well-being that one-third of federal expenditures on food assistance for children are devoted to them. They are the National School Lunch Program; School breakfast Program; Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program; and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

With our country in such a severe recession, families are relying on these programs more than ever. In rural America, an estimated 29 percent participate in at least one of these four nutrition programs; about 20 percent participate in two or more. Most of the rural households that participate in these child nutrition programs live in the South and Midwest. Rural poverty is highest in the South.

Homeless children are four times more likely than children in middle-income families to witness violent behavior by their parents (4 percent vs. 1 percent). They are more likely to experience overall health problems and emotional disturbances.

For more information on the state classification process, please go to the Internet and read Americas Youngest Outcasts: A State Report on Child Homelessness at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

The ranking order by states offering the best services for homeless children, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst, ranks North Carolina at 44. I will admit that this took me by surprise. We must find more ways to help our children. Thermal Belt has a fund set up for rental assistance but at this time it is empty. We have at least 12 to 15 calls a month from clients who need help with rent to keep a roof over their familys heads. We help when the funds are available. We also provide our clients with names of other resources where they may find assistance when our funds are depleted.

We thank all of you for the assistance you provide to Thermal Belt Outreach. Your love of community keeps our doors open and continues to help provide needed assistance to the people of Polk County.

Eloise Thwing

Eloise Thwing is the founder and director of Thermal Belt Outreach, which is an independent non-profit organization located in Columbus, N.C. For more information, visit our website at http://tboutreach.org.