If You See ThemIf You See Them

They hide in plain sight, surviving on school breakfasts and lunches, sleeping on friends' couches, in parks, or on the streets. Their official designation is "unaccompanied homeless youth." They are not "runaways" breaking free from strict parenting; these are kids seeking safety, having escaped abusive parents or been abandoned. When Vicki Sokolik's son brought brought home a classmate who was living on her own and about to drop out of school to work a minimum wage job, Vicki stepped in to help. Soon she was introduced to other kids who lacked adult supervision, support, and the means to survive and thrive. She founded a nonprofit and worked to change legislation in her home state of Florida to give these kids agency over their lives. This book wakes us up to the issue of youth homelessness in America through Sokolik's own story of advocacy and through the voices of the kids themselves.