Child abuse and child neglect remain serious problems in San Francisco. When incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported to authorities, quick action must be taken to protect the children involved. Oftentimes this requires removing a child from her home. Sometimes children are removed as a result of criminal activity in the home. Regardless of the circumstance that leads to a child being removed from her home, it often happens with very little notice. While it is for their own protection, it can be a harrowing experience for a child, who may enter the foster care system with little more than the clothes on her back.
In San Francisco, over one hundred children are rescued by the foster care system each month. A recent study showed that San Francisco places more children in foster care than almost any other county in California. Yet the budgets of the involved government agencies and service providers in San Francisco are in just as much trouble as those throughout the state.
In 1994, City Youth Now found a way to help. For the last seventeen years, Project K.E.E.P. has provided a Kids Emergency Essentials Pack to each child removed from her San Francisco home. These kits contain essential items to provide immediate care and support to the children who receive them. Currently, the kits include a toiletries kit, including toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and soap; a fleece blanket; colored pencils or crayons; a notebook,
drawing paper, pencils and pens; and, most important, a stuffed animal for comfort.
Of course, there are additional items that an ideal kit would contain but these basics ensure that all children who are taken into protective custody will be able to brush their teeth, entertain themselves by drawing or writing while they wait for a placement, and curl up with a blanket and a stuffed animal during this frightening and lonely time. Winter is coming, and we need to be prepared to meet the most basic needs of all children entering the system. The good news is there are things you can do to help. The cost of assembling one of these backpacks is approximately $25 – consider a donation to City Youth Now in this amount and know that you have provided comfort and security to one child during this vulnerable time OR make it a recurring donation and help one child per month. You can also help by volunteering to pack the backpacks, or make in-kind donations to the program (we are always in need and accepting donations of pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, notebooks, drawing pads, crayon sets, stuffed animals and blankets). Please contact our offices at info@cityyouthnow.org to find out how you can help KEEP San Francisco’s kids warm, safe, and secure.
