Imagine a child growing up, learning and trying to improve his life to achieve success in the future. For an “everyday” child this can be challenging, however “everyday” obstacles can be overcome. For thousands of children in the United States, this dream is nearly impossible to realize. These children are part of the homeless population found throughout the United States. Many times these individuals try to hide this great secret from the rest of the world, but today homelessness is widespread among these young people. Various problems occur in the lives of these people that others could not even begin to understand. Homelessness affects children at every stage of life, physically, mentally and emotionally. The problem of homelessness is a negatively stereotyped problem that the hosted population cannot fully understand. This term is many times overlooked among children in the United States (Jewel 1). It's a much scarier issue than many realize. Our streets today are full of children and adolescents abandoned to themselves due to the situations in which they find themselves (1). Many of these young people "take refuge" in places such as schools, shelters and abandoned buildings. These places serve as places of safety for these children (1). Together with other children in the United States, they are trying to achieve the “American Dream” (Bender 16). To make these goals a reality, these young adults and children will do whatever it takes. During this process, many homeless children resort to drugs and violence (16). These activities, along with others, become important to these individuals because they feel as if there is nothing or no one else to comfort them. Statistically, homelessness ranks very high...middle of the paper...ct 2009. .Haugen, David M. and Box, Matthew J. Poverty. Farmington Hills, MI, AL: Greenhaven, 2006. “Homeless Children (Short Article).” America. 181.15 (1999): 3. Student edition. Wise Owl NC. Mallard Creek Media Center. 12 Oct 2009. .Jewel. “Street life is no life for children (homeless children).” United States today. 136.2750 (2007): 56(3). Student edition. Wise Owl NC. Mallard Creek Media Center. October 12, 2009. This is a primary source because Jewel recounts her personal experience dealing with these same issues. She presents information about how being homeless has affected her and how it is known to affect other children. Kingsbury, Kathleen. “Keeping homeless children in school.” Time magazine. (March 12 2009). 1-2.