First Step Communities – The Grove

Homelessness is a crisis plaguing our country. With the widening gap of class inequality, many of us find ourselves on the fringes of financial stability. You hear it all the time, “I just want to be financially stable.” What is this false sense of security we have other than a shelter made of cards?  

I had the pleasure of sitting in on a meeting with First Step Communities, a housing and rehabilitation program that focuses on homeless youths ages 18-24. They see young people who have aged out of the foster care system, the queer and displaced, the generational homeless. I write this just to share and give praise to social workers, people, who truly want to help others.

Our beautiful city of Sacramento has so much to be proud of. We are a city of underdogs. California’s little sibling that isn’t cool enough to hang with the likes of the Bay or SoCal. We are a cow town, a boring capital city. But that’s made who we are. We are who we are because we know we are a place like no other.

Our city is faced with a problem that refuses to go unnoticed. It has ballooned, and it will continue to grow to overwhelming proportions. We can walk around with our noses in the air or feign sympathy as we go on with our days, but these people aren’t going anywhere. We must find some way to come together to alleviate the problem of homelessness.

The meeting today just really struck me. Looking away won’t make the problem go away. We are so lucky that the circumstances of our lives have placed us in a position of judgement. Give time back to your community, volunteer, be an ear. The one true currency is time; spend it on fulfillment.