There are 198 homeless children and teenagers in the Columbia Public School District.
This is why Rainbow House opened in 1986, to help Columbia’s homeless children.
More than 350 youths received help from Rainbow House last year. The Homeless Youth Program provides teenagers with an emergency shelter as well as a transitional living program.
“A lot of the time it’s these teens that want to make those good choices and didn’t have the structure or support they needed,” said Rainbow House Marketing Director Brenda Jackman.
Country music artist Jimmy Wayne performed Tuesday at a free concert in Jesse Auditorium to benefit Rainbow House. Once a homeless youth himself, Wayne has made a name for himself as a national spokesperson for youths who are homeless or in foster care.
Last year, he walked 1,700 miles from Nashville to Phoenix in order to raise awareness for homeless children and teens — continuing his trek despite rattlesnakes, injury and being robbed in the middle of a blizzard.
“Knowing that not long before I began walking, I was on a stage, people were taking pictures of me…” Wayne said. “And then, the next day you’re on the road walking, simulating being a homeless person, and no one wants to look at you. It really brings you down to earth.”
Wayne’s walk was part of his Meet Me Halfway campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about homeless youths and young adults aging out of the foster care system.
Wayne said his need to do something big came after speaking with a youth about to age out of the foster care system.
“I asked him where he was going to go,” Wayne said. “And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ That made me really anxious to do something… and it needed to be as wild and crazy as walking halfway across America.”
According to Meet Me Halfway’s website, one in four young adults are incarcerated within two years of aging out of the foster care system.
Event organizer Zach Parolin met Wayne while working in Nashville and joined him for part of his walk during his spring break. As a result of that friendship, Parolin was able to secure Wayne for a concert in Columbia. Last semester, Parolin helped create Project Sol, an organization raising awareness and funds for Rainbow House.
“When we formed the organization last semester, I told him the idea I had to bring him to Mizzou to share his story,” Parolin said. “We could not have done it with any other artist, just because he had such a giving spirit.”
Wayne said the best way to help homeless youths is just by donating time, whether that means donating old clothes or being a friend.
“You’d be surprised how much they don’t ask for,” Wayne said, “Because they’re not used to getting it. So they don’t ask for anything.”
Wayne described his performance as a very surgical strike, targeting the heartstrings.
“I go for the core of the heart and tell them the truth about what these kids are going through,” he said. “You can’t be human not to be inspired by that.”
Wayne feels that since his walk, there has been more awareness in the public about this issue. And whether more people are spreading the word or getting physically involved, everything helps.
“If there’s one homeless individual, one homeless child, that’s enough to compel you to make a difference,” Parolin said. “One is too many.”