‘We’ll take care of you.’ Local children send heartfelt messages to their homeless peers

One in 30 American children will experience homelessness at some point in their lives.

“That’s a scary stat,” said Laura Licoski, founder of Facing Homelessness Bradenton. “Here in Manatee County, in our shelter, we have children everyday going in and out of there. We have a lot of kids living in the woods and they do the best they can to get to school and everything else.”

Homelessness is down from the 2019 count. According to Turning Points, 466 people were counted in Manatee County in 2020 compared to 532 in 2019, but those numbers are only from those seeking services, which was likely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Licoski said what children learn today, they will remember tomorrow and why it’s important to involve children to begin to understand the bigger issues they face in the future.

On Thursday such an opportunity to educate children about child homelessness took place as cheerleaders from Parrish Elite, a cheerleader and tumbling team, spent some time before practice decorating “Love-to-Go” bags. The bag project created by Facing Homelessness will be delivered to Freedom Gathering to fill with necessities and then given to homeless children.

Freedom Gathering is one of several local faith-based organizations “called to come together in unity & give hope to those who have become hopeless by feeding them nutritionally & spiritually,” their Facebook page states.

Some of the cheerleaders spend a lot of their time as unofficial homeless advocates, meeting and socializing with homeless children at Freedom Gathering events. Licoski said Thursday’s activity was, “Something to raise awareness about people who aren’t as privileged as we are to have a roof over our heads.”

Eight-year-old Skylar was born to cheer with natural ability, a broad smile and a personality full of pep. But it’s her big heart that drives her to think of others.

She often meets the area’s homeless children at Freedom Gathering.

“They are really shy because they don’t get around a lot of people because they’re homeless and they really don’t like to play because they don’t have anywhere to play and because they don’t get that much food,” Skylar said.

Her message to those other children comes straight from her heart and is both simple and inspiring.

“We’ll take care of you,” she said. “I hope you’re healthy.”

Skylar’s young experience being around homeless children is something she likes to share with friends.

“I tell my friends that you should be grateful for everything because if you’re not, you grow up homeless and then you have nothing to do.”

Bella, 8, didn’t just decorate her Love-to-Go bag, she wrote a message from her heart.

“I’m sorry what happened to you,” she wrote. “I hope you are doing well. I am praying for you. Have a good day. Go with God. No, do not give up in yourself. Never give up.”

Layken Hopper, who will turn 12 on April 3, decided to donate all of her birthday money to the cause.

“With everything going on the last year, I thought it would be better to give back to people who needed it,” Layken said. “I think people take what they have for granted when a lot of people have nothing. I decided to raise money for my 12th birthday and am going to donate the money to Facing Homelessness. Giving back is a small thing I can do to help them.”

Licoski has worked tirelessly with the community’s homeless, launching an identification program with local homeless agencies and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to get the homeless their ID in order to find work. She has had one steady message throughout her efforts and that is don’t assume.

That message is reaching the young advocates.

“A lot of people think the homeless are like drug addicts and irresponsible,” said Kinsley Scheid, 11. “Some people are just homeless and try to avoid that stuff and just love God. When I think about them, I think they are struggling so I always think about when they get these bags, how they react. They’re happy and feel good.”

Facing Homelessness Bradenton conducts several projects throughout the year that are easy to get involved with and doesn’t cost a lot of money or time. They are an intricate part of the homeless services campaign in Manatee County. Visit their Facebook page to learn more.