Statistics suggest there are approximately 42 million youth without homes in the United States. More than 14,000 of them are in West Virginia according to Lisa Doyle-Parsons, director of the Circles Campaign of the Mid-Ohio Valley.

But theirs is a plight with which most of us do not come face to face on a regular basis, as we might with some of the people we have become accustomed to seeing in our communities while we go about our daily routines.

During last weekend’s Parkersburg Sleep Out Fundraiser, Denise Hughes, director of the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, explained why.

“It is an unknown thing because youth don’t tend to be sleeping under bridges or out in the park,” she said. “They tend to be couch surfing or going from home to home. Some have been kicked out of their home or they have no place to go.”

That’s why it was so important for organizers of the sleep out to raise awareness of the issue. Children, no matter what the age, who do not have a place to call home need our help.

“We can help them out of those situations and find a safe place to live and get the resources they need to be independent,” Hughes said. “The mission of Children’s Home Society is to promote the wellbeing of children no matter what age they are. Even for these older children who need our assistance, we want to be there for them.”

Adults must remember teens who are dealing with homelessness are unlikely to broadcast their situation.

“The homeless youth is the hidden population among the homeless,” Doyle-Parsons said. “They try not to let it be known that they are homeless and are trying to hide it and mask it.”

Of course they do. They’re kids.

But we can help them, and we don’t have to wait for a special fundraising night to do it. Go to childhswv.org to find out more. There is a donate tab right on the homepage.

“Any donation stays locally,” Hughes said.

Let’s do what we can to make sure these kids have a place — of their own — to stay locally, too.