This story is fictional but is pieced together from the many experiences of homeless children in Knox County.

My summer vacation was pretty different this year than in summers past. The first week after vacation started, Mom came into my bedroom and told me to pack everything I had into the few trash bags she had, but told me that we might have to leave some things behind. I knew that something was going to happen because I had overheard Mom talking to different people about an eviction notice she had been given. So that afternoon my mom's friend, Jenny, came in her van and we loaded up the few trash bags Mom and I had packed. We were able to fit a few pieces of furniture into the van and we brought everything to a storage unit. Mom told me it would be cheaper to rent the storage unit than a new apartment, and then we wouldn't have to lose everything between now and when she found a new home to move to. I had filled my school backpack with what I would need just for a couple of days and Mom reminded me to pack my toothbrush and stuffed teddy. Mom told me we would be staying with Jenny for a little while and other friend's houses for slumber parties, but that after the summer we would have a place to live before school started. I was feeling pretty nervous about this, because I like my school and I really didn't want to move and make new friends. Anytime I thought about moving to a new place, I would get a stomachache that would last all day.

After only staying at Jenny's house a week, Mom told me that we would be staying at a different friend's house for a couple of days. I put my stuff back in my backpack and the next couple of nights we had a "sleepover" at Melissa's house. Mom let me sleep on the couch and she slept in the recliner that leaned way back.

Mom told me that since we were going to be staying right in Rockland, we would be able to go to the South End Beach a lot, but we hardly went at all, at least not to play or swim. Most days were spent walking around town going to different offices. It seemed like my mom was constantly filling out forms, pulling out her driver's license and other cards to be photocopied, and repeating over and over our birthdays and something called a social security number.

Mom and I also spent a lot of time at the library, which was about the only thing I looked forward to all day because I could pick out new books and play games on the library computer while Mom filled out applications. Every day we would go to St. Bernard's Church for lunch. Sometimes I would see other kids from my school there, but we didn't usually talk to each other.

We also met a lot with Mom's caseworker, Sarah. Mom would spend time talking to Sarah and sometimes Mom would cry and say how overwhelmed she was. Usually, Mom is happy, but sometimes she was worried about where we were going to sleep at night.

The worst night of summer vacation was when Mom couldn't get a hold of any of her friends. We had been walking around Rockland all day while Mom tried to call people. She even called my grandfather who she never talks to. After a while, Mom told me we were going to the beach. I was excited at first until she told me that we were going to have a slumber party there. We put on our sweatshirts and Mom pulled out a blanket and we slept right there on the beach. I was only scared once when a drunk guy walked by us, but I think it was too dark for him to know we were there. Neither Mom or I slept much that night.

The next day, Mom's caseworker told us that we could stay at the motel in town and that a group called the Knox County Homeless Coalition would be paying for it. Mom was so happy and she told me that we would be staying at the motel every night and that we wouldn't have to worry about a place to sleep until we had our own house. I was still worried about school and school clothes. All summer I wore the same couple of outfits, going to the storage unit every once in a while to change out what I had. Mom's caseworker gave her gift certificates to Goodwill and I was happy that I was able to get a few new outfits from there to start school with. I just kept hoping that I would be starting school with my friends and that we could find a home soon, before school started.

Mom's caseworker told her one day that she had been picked for something called a Section 8 Voucher. Mom was so happy that she cried and cried and hugged me for a long time. The main activities for the next couple of weeks were to look at the paper and on the Internet for apartments for Mom and me to live in. We looked at some until one day Mom told me that we would be able to move into one. We met with a group of people so Mom could sign a lot of paperwork and then we finally had our home. A group from a church came in a truck and dropped off furniture and Mom's friend helped us move our stuff from the storage unit. This was the first time in a long time that I finally felt like I didn't have a stomachache. The best news of all was that the new apartment was near to our old home, so I would still be able to go to my same school with all my friends!

Since October 2012, the Knox County Homeless Coalition has worked with and for many, providing a "shelter without walls" for 84 children housed temporarily at Ledges by the Bay and Seven Mountain Motel. For children whose families are homeless, their lives suddenly become very chaotic. In the Rockland community and many others in rural Maine, homeless families usually stay with friends or family and "couch surf" until they can be rehoused. From one night to the next, they often don't know who they will be staying with, and children's anxiety increases as they overhear their parents desperately making arrangements over the phone. Their belongings are packed and unpacked, sometimes on a daily basis. For some of these families, depending on their mode of transportation, they may only own as many items that will fit into a shopping bag. If they can afford it, some families are fortunate enough to rent a storage unit to hold their belongings while they're in transition and they go back and forth, putting things away, rearranging items and restocking with fresh clothes or necessities.

Another big concern for all of these children and their parents is school. When families are couch surfing and constantly trying to figure out where they will be sleeping that night, school may not be something that the parents can access for their children. If a child is enrolled at South School in Rockland, but the only friend that could take them in that night lives in Waldoboro, the parent is likely to pick a safe shelter over school.

Despite the few support services that are available to homeless families and children, it continues to be an ongoing struggle for children and teens to balance the everyday anxieties that any child or teen deals with on top of their lack of power or control when it comes to housing and shelter.

For more information on how you can help reopen the Hospitality House, visit Facebook.com/hospitalityhouseKCHC. Fundraising efforts are continuous for the support of the Hospitality House and the Knox County Homeless Coalition. To contribute, make out checks and mail to Knox County Homeless Coalition, P.O. Box 1696, Rockland, ME 04841.