Home Start said there are roughly 1,500 children and young adults facing homelessness in San Diego.<\/p>\n
EL CAJON, Calif. \u2014 November is Youth Homelessness Outreach, Prevention and Education, or HOPE Month, and one East County nonprofit is using it to call attention to a growing issue.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Home Start<\/a>, an organization that supports vulnerable children and families, held its annual walk and rally in El Cajon on Thursday to raise awareness about youth homelessness in San Diego County.<\/p>\n Home Start members, high school students and elected officials took to the streets, emphasizing what they said is a pressing need: roughly 1,500 youth are currently living unhoused in San Diego.<\/p>\n Each step from dozens of participants drew focus to a crisis that often goes overlooked. According to last year\u2019s\u00a0federal homelessness assessment report<\/a>, more than one in four people experiencing homelessness nationwide were children or young adults.<\/p>\n Among those speaking at the rally was 22-year-old Oyuki Sanchez, who faced homelessness just nine months ago after moving to San Diego from Bakersfield.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a scary thing out there, because there’s not really public bathrooms to use, it’s hard to shower, it’s hard to feel safe, because you’re also in a car,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n She eventually secured stable housing through Home Start and other youth outreach programs, \u00a0a moment she described as immense relief.<\/p>\n \u201cI was, like, overwhelmed of excitement at the time, because the car was breaking down,” Sanchez said. “The car was not going to be an option very soon.”<\/p>\n