Keep in mind the invisible homeless

When people think about homelessness, they tend to think of those living on the side of the street in cardboard boxes. In reality, a more modern definition of homelessness is needed.

Many children without a home sleep over at a friend's house every night, take a shower and then show up to school appearing perfectly fine. Many families with children who have lost a home generally stay off the streets for fear of Child Protective Services splitting them up. These families opt for cheap motels and doubling up with other families to provide a home for their kids.

I'm a student at Fremd High School in Palatine, and like most other kids, homelessness was not something I ever thought about. I'm in a club at school called H.O.P.E. that spends its time fundraising for needy students. When we thought about sending the money overseas, our club sponsor let us know that there are around 60 kids in our school who are homeless.

Sixty doesn't sound like a lot when I write it down, but these are 60 kids who I go to school with, eat lunch with and take classes with.

My school isn't special. According to the National Center for Homeless Education, across Illinois there are over 50,000 students without a home. Our Illinois legislators need to change the definition of what constitutes a homeless child, and allocate funds to help people that I now think of as the "invisible homeless."

Hira Baig

Palatine

Deceitful ad on abortion

The full page "Catholics for Choice" ad in the Sunday, June 23, Daily Herald surely had the intended effect of an advertisement: being noticed. Was a purpose of the ad to recruit other Catholics to their point of view and push for change in Church doctrines?

This ad invoking God, from persons claiming to be Catholic and pro-choice is deceitful. It tries to give the impression that communion with the Catholic Church and promoting abortion rights is possibly false advertising on their part.

If religion is this group's concern, members should seek out people from such organizations as Atheists for Life, Feminists for Life, Humanists for Life, among others, and learn their point of view. They marched in January at the March for Life along with religious groups.

There are nonreligious people believing in the sanctity of life. Their secular pro-life stance has nothing to do with separation of church and state.

Mary Jacks

Arlington Heights