08/19/2026
The backpacks are packed, the first-day pictures have been taken, and the buses are running. Our kids are back in school. 🎒❤️
For most families, that means settling back into the craziness of school-year routines: homework, practices, packed lunches, early mornings and hearing all about who sat next to whom at lunch.
But for some children, going back to school means something very different.
There are children sitting in classrooms right here in the Greater Houston area who may have spent the night in a car, a tent, an abandoned building or another place never meant to be a home. They’re excited to see their friends and teachers just like every other child, but for them, school can also mean a guaranteed meal, running water, a clean bathroom and air conditioning.
Think about that for a minute. Things most of our children never have to think about can be some of the things another child looks forward to most about going to school.
More than 120,000 children across America are unhoused, and more than 800 have been identified right here in the Greater Houston area. Behind every one of those numbers is a child sitting at a desk today, carrying a backpack and trying to learn while also carrying worries no child should have to carry.
As we pray for our own children and grandchildren this school year, let’s remember these kids too. And then let’s put our Compassion in Action. ❤️
Matthew’s Light will continue showing up for our unhoused neighbors with hot meals, cold drinks, hygiene supplies, clothing, backpacks and other necessities, while doing everything we can to remind them that they are seen, loved and not forgotten.
If you’d like to help us keep showing up, you can make a one-time gift here:
❤️ https://givebutter.com/MQv4Px
Or join Team Compassion, our community of monthly donors who make this work possible month after month:
💛 https://givebutter.com/T26BMs
And if giving isn’t possible right now, pray for these children and their families and share this post. Help us make sure they aren’t invisible.
“Let the little children come to me…” — Matthew 19:14
