There was a time the face of the homeless was a time beaten old man, addicted to a variety of drugs or facing a wrath of psychological problems. The harmless man begged for handouts at street corners. Today the face of the homeless has become a single mom and her two children sleeping inside their car in a nearby park, fleeing the beating that awaits them at home.

The United States in unique among industrialized nations in that women and children comprise such a large percentage of our country's homeless.Experts admint that although counting the exact number of homeless children is difficult, the consensus is.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1.over 2 million children will be homeless this winter. Backing up these figures are numbers from the U.S. Department of Education that report almost 400,000 homeless children were served by the nation's public schools last year. Since more than half of all homeless children are under the age of 6 and not yet in school, a minimum of 800,000 children can be presumed to be homeless. On the basis of these data, the National Center on Family Homelessness concludes that more than one million American children are homeless today.

With the current housing issues the homelessness problem will only get worse this winter. Homelessness is a state wide problem with every state having a growing segment of homeless. These factors were identified from epidemiological research conducted over the past ten years. Every state has a huge number of homeless.

Unfortunately the homeless children are far sicker then the average child with so many factors causing these illness. Homeless children: - Single mom families on average make less than $35,000 annually which does not leave them far from the poverty level or from the streets. - Have higher rates of low birth weight and need special care right after birth four times as often as other children. - Have very high rates of acute illness, with half suffering from two or more symptoms during a single month. - Have twice as many ear infections, five times more diarrhea and stomach problems, and six times as many speech and stammering problems. - Are four times more likely to be asthmatic. - Go hungry at more than twice the rate of other children

Homelessness Devastates Families Families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, now accounting for almost 40% of the nation's homeless. More than 85% of homeless families are headed by single mothers, with the average homeless family comprised of a young mother and her two young children, most of whom are below the age of 6 years.

Homeless mothers have an average annual income of under $8000, living at 63% of the federal poverty level for a family of three. - Sadly less than 25 % receive any kind of help from family or friends. - 39% have been hospitalized for medical treatment. - one fourth of the women have asthma compared to 4% percent for moms with homes. - 20% have anemia, compared to 2% of other women under 45 years. - 40% report alcohol or drug dependency at some time in their lives. One big issue is that seventy percent of the homeless families do not have a father at home to support them in so many different ways.

These children have no hope or future if they are on the street for over a year. - 50% of fathers are unemployed. - almost half have drug issues. - 31% have physical or mental health problems. - One third are in jail or on probation. Homeless children are at particularly high risk for being placed in foster care; 12% of homeless children are placed in foster care compared to just over 1% of other children.

The National Center on Family Homelessness has identified placement in foster care as one of only two childhood risk factors that predicts family homelessness during adulthood. - 44% of homeless mothers lived outside of their homes at some point during their childhood; 20% of these women were placed in foster care. - 70% of homeless mothers placed in foster care as children have had at least one of their own children in foster care.

The frequency of violence in the lives of homeless mothers is staggering. - 63% have been violently abused by an intimate male partner. - 27 percent have expereince severe domestic violence resulting in injuries requiring medical attention. - 25% have been physically or sexually assaulted during adulthood by someone other than an intimate partner. - 66% were violently abused by a childhood caretaker or other adult in the household before reaching 18. - almost half were molested as children. When the violence from their childhood is combined with their experiences as adults, 92% of homeless mothers have been severely physically or sexually assaulted; Almost 90 percent have been sexually abused in their lifetime.

These repeated acts of brutality result in unusually high rates of serious emotional problems among homeless mothers. - 36% have experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; three times the rate of other women. - almost half have chroni deprression issues. - 31% have attempted suicide at least once, primarily during adolescence. - 12% are facing extreme psychological issues. Among homeless children: - 8% have been physically abused, twice the rate of other children. - 8% have been sexually abused; triple the average rate. - 35% have been the subject of a child protection investigation. - One fourth of the children witnes violence acts their first month on the streets. - 30 percent of homeless children have seen their dad hit their mom. - 15% have wateched their moms have sex.

Each November, Mission Grounds Gourmet Coffee collects nearly 1000 gently used winter coats and distributes them to hundreds of men, women, and children who would otherwise go without. This year on October 29th we delivered the coats as part of our Halloween festival to the Seven Bridges Homeless Shelter in Smyrna enlisting several Brownie Girl Scouts to help. We are planning two more drives this month.

How you can help:

Buy a homeless child a new coat or pair of shoes at www.missiongrounds.com. For a mere ten dollars you can buy a pair of shoes or a coat for a homeless child.

Host a Coat Collection - Organize your own coat drive and inspire your coworkers, neighbors, or civic group members to give the gift of warmth this winter.

Donate a coat - Please check to see where you can drop off coats.

Make a financial donation - Providing tons of caots this winter we are trying to help all kids. Your donation will help us ensure that every Atlanta who needs a warm coat this year has one.

Buy Some Coffee: think about purchasing coffee as a Holiday gift: Mission Grounds offers nice gift baskets, monthly coffee delivery, a nice assortment of coffee and a coffee club. Buy someone a nice gift and all the proceeds go to homeless children