A Day in the Life of a Homeless High Schooler
And What 75 Holiday Gift Cards Made Possible in 2025
We’ll call her Maya.
She’s 15. She attends an Austin public high school. She has no parent at home. No stable address. No safe place that’s hers.
“Maya” isn’t her real name. But her story is real — and it’s happening right now in our city.
This is what high school looks like when you have no home to return to.
5:45 AM
Maya wakes up on a couch that isn’t hers.
The apartment smells like cigarettes and stale takeout. She’s been here three nights. Last night, one of the adults mentioned “helping with rent.”
She knows what that means.
Before anyone wakes up, she grabs her backpack and slips out.
6:30 AM
At a gas station, she buys coffee and crackers. That’s breakfast and lunch.
She washes her face in the restroom and heads to school.
If she blends in, she survives.
8:15 AM
She walks through the front doors and keeps her head down.
School is the safest place she goes all day. The routine. The noise. The hours when no one asks where she slept.
If the wrong person finds out she’s on her own, she could be sent back to the house she fled — where her mom’s boyfriend still lives. Where no one believed her.
Going back is not an option.
So she smiles. Says, “I’m fine.” And stays invisible.
3:45 PM
The bell rings. Everyone else goes home.
Maya texts a few people:
hey can i crash tonight? won’t be long…
Some don’t respond. Some respond with conditions.
Offers from older men who “just want to help.” Places where gratitude is expected in ways that make her stomach turn.
Eventually, someone says yes. Just for one night.
10:20 PM
Another couch.
Shoes close. Phone charged. Clothes on.
Ready to leave if she needs to.
Tomorrow she’ll move again.
Maya Is Not Rare
Dozens of Austin ISD students are identified as unaccompanied homeless youth — enrolled in public school while living entirely on their own.
Many fled abuse. Many are couch surfing. Many are trying to graduate while navigating dangers no child should face alone.
They are students first.
They deserve dignity.
What We Did in Winter 2025
During the 2025 Holiday season, our community raised $7,500.
We provided 75 unaccompanied homeless high school students with $100 holiday gift cards.
Each card was placed inside a handwritten Christmas card addressed personally to the student.
No applications.
No hoops.
No public exposure.
Just direct, dignified relief.
For many students, it was:
The only mail they received with their name on it
The only holiday card addressed to them
The only gift that came without conditions
This is not a one-time effort.
We run this Holiday Gift Card initiative every year.
How This Works
We partner directly with Austin-area school counselors
Students are verified as unaccompanied homeless youth
Funds go directly to student gift cards
No public exposure
No administrative fees are taken from designated gifts
Simple. Direct. Accountable.
What a Gift Card Makes Possible
For a student like Maya, a gift card can mean:
Groceries without trading safety
Hygiene items without having to “earn” them
A prepaid phone plan
Warm clothing and shoes
Bus fare to leave when it isn’t safe
The power to choose safety that week
It is not a permanent solution.
But it is relief.
It is breathing room.
It says, I see you.
We’re Doing It Again in 2026
The need doesn’t disappear after the holidays.
Students like Maya will still wake up on borrowed couches next winter.
We’re committed to running this initiative again for the 2026 Holiday season — and expanding it.
Our 2026 Goal: Sponsor 100 Students
How You Can Help
$50 provides critical basics — hygiene items, bus fare, groceries
$100 sponsors one student
$500 supports five students
$1,000 provides relief for ten students
Every dollar goes directly toward emergency student support.
When you give, you fund options.
You fund safety.
You fund dignity.
Important: Please Designate Your Gift
When donating, designate your contribution as: “Holiday Gift Cards 2026.”
This ensures your gift is allocated directly to next winter’s student relief fund.
Help Us Reach 100 Students in 2026
Because Maya shouldn’t have to choose between a roof and her safety.
Because no 15-year-old should know what “helping with rent” means.
Because graduation should be the hardest thing a high school student faces.
Join us in protecting 100 students this winter.
