Girl Scout Troop 6000 is specifically for girls in the New York City shelter system. Meetings are led by trained troop members who are women also living in the shelter system. Dubbed the "Homeless Girl Scout Troop" by the media, they are all over recent news for surpassing a goal of selling 6,000 boxes of cookies. The total numbers are impressive: over 32,000 boxes sold and $15,000 in donations! The proceeds will allegedly go toward field trips, camping, scout supplies and other activities.
I am proud of the girls for going above and beyond their sales goal. It shows teamwork, dedication and an entrepreneurial spirit. But one thought remains in my brain:
🗣THESE GIRLS ARE STILL HOMELESS!
Record-breaking sales and cash donations are not helping their homelessness, for those of us reading between the fine lines. At the end of the day, these girls sold tons of cookies and still have no roof over their head and no place to call home. The thought of these girls traipsing around the city dressed in cookie costumes (literally, look) to make big organizations money then returning to a shelter at night angers me. Need I also point out that Troop 6000 is majority girls of color?
Articles report a partnership among the Mayor's Office, Department of Homeless Services and Girl Scouts of Greater New York will invest $1 million over a 3-year period to "expand the troop." WAYMENT Why is it a goal to expand homelessness? It should be the opposite—strive to decrease the homeless rate. Here's a thought: use the allotted $1 million to place every single member of Troop 6000 in a stable home. At the very least, offer them a large percentage of cookie sales to be used toward everyday living expenses, not f'in Girl Scout uniforms.
Troop 6000 is not out here living their best life. Instead they are being pimped by the very influential people that have the ability to change their situation. When did society become so self-serving? Absolutely no one in the Department, Girl Scouts organization, or Mayor's Office saw a problem with this? And where are these girls' mamas? Especially the ones appointed as leaders of the troop. Someone needs to speak up and turn this loss into a lesson.
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