THOUGHTS ON HOMELESSNESS By Melanie Kagan When most people hear the word homeless, they picture someone sleeping under a bridge.

But that's not what homelessness usually looks like. It looks like Monica. She works full-time, earning $22 an hour. She pays $1,700 a month in rent. After rent, utilities, insurance, groceries, and daycare, there's almost nothing left. Not because she's irresponsible. Because the math simply doesn't work. Then life happened. Her car needed a $600 repair. Daycare increased by another $150 a month. By March, she couldn't make rent. By April, her landlord filed for eviction. Hoping to avoid additional fees, she moved into a motel with her two daughters, thinking it would only be temporary. Months later, they're still there. She still goes to work every day. Her daughters still go to school. She still shows up for parent-teacher conferences and cheers at her daughter's cheerleading practice. But it's been months since they've had a home-cooked meal because a motel room doesn't have a kitchen. She feels like she's failed her children. She's embarrassed to ask for help. This is homelessness, too. One of the biggest myths about homelessness is that people don't work hard enough. Many do. They're your receptionist, your favorite restaurant manager, the cashier who knows your name, or the parent sitting beside you at your child's swim lesson. Here in Cobb County, nearly 2,600 students are experiencing homelessness. More than half are living in motels, and nearly 600 are sleeping in cars or outside. The families we serve don't need judgment. They need the opportunity to recover from one unexpected expense, one missed paycheck, one medical bill, or one rent increase that pushed an already fragile budget beyond its limits. Homelessness isn't always visible. Sometimes it's wearing a name badge, dropping kids off at school, and smiling through the workday while wondering where everyone will sleep next month. Before we assume we know what homelessness looks like, maybe we should look a little closer. To learn more about how The Center for Family Resources is helping children and families here in Cobb County, visit TheCFR.org.