East Bay school district hosts giveaway for families in need amid surge in youth homelessness

CONCORD, Calif. (KGO) -- The line extended out the door and down to the street in Concord Tuesday night. Dozens of families came out for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District's first ever HOPE holiday fair - an event created to support the district's unhoused and foster youth - with everything from free winter clothing to haircuts.

"Everything was perfect, so I just want to thank them. For being so grateful, for helping people and for thinking about everyone's needs," said Sadaf, one of the event's recipients.

The event was by invitation only, with the district specifically contacting students who met certain criteria.

Rosie Reid was its main organizer.

She says over the past year, the number of students considered legally homeless in the district has doubled.

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"Basically everyone came. So we had the event, I thought I'd get maybe 100, 150 people and they all came," Reid said.

One of those in attendance was Melissa - who currently lives in transitional housing with her children.

Melissa tells us events like these help her provide essentials for her kids, especially during the holiday season.

"There are not a lot of resources for folks that are experiencing homelessness. There aren't a lot of resources at all, and I think there's waitlists for any program," Melissa said.

The need goes far beyond the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, though. In fact, new data released just last week by the federal government shows that over a quarter of all the unaccompanied homeless youth in the U.S. live in California.

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Melissa says those startling statistics only tell part of the story.

She tells me, for many people who experience inconsistent housing situations, some of the hardest obstacles are the intangible ones.

"There's a misconception that people don't want to get jobs or there's bad reps and that's not necessarily the case. I think that anyone could lose their home," said Melissa.

By the end of the event, the district says they were running out of almost everything.

That's why Reid says she hopes this year is just the beginning.

"We definitely need more events like this, we need more community partners, we need more donations, because our families need more things. And this is not a want, these are needs."

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