Standing in front of a room full of youth teams representing countries from all over the world, Juliana Franco presented the hopes of her team, nine girls from the United States between ages 14 and 17 who were either homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.
“We are youth holding the world accountable for the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the American teenager said during the closing General Assembly at the Street Child World Cup last month in Moscow.
The opportunity for those nine girls to attend was what Royals captain Becky Sauerbrunn had spent the past few months raising money for. A look at her Twitter page quickly reveals just how immersed in it she is.
The Street Child World Cup, held last month, brought together 24 teams of street-connected children to not only play soccer but also provide a platform to discuss their rights and the policy reforms they wish to see internationally. It was held a month before 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia to draw on the attention from that event.
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“It’s very much an invisible thing,” Sauerbrunn said of what she has learned about youth homelessness through her involvement with the event. “You don’t see a lot of homeless children on the streets, and that’s because if they’re spotted they’re usually put into social services. And that’s not necessarily the best thing to happen.”
Sauerbrunn was pegged as a potential ambassador for the program due to her connection to the U.S. Soccer Foundation and her involvement in other America SCORES programs. When approached about the opportunity, she jumped on board with gusto. She hadn’t worked with youth homelessness initiatives before, but she was excited to get the opportunity to.
“You have the saying that someone would take the clothes off their back for you,” said Marc Saffren, a consultant for the National Network for Youth. “Well, Becky not only took the clothes off her back but she took the shoes off her feet as well for us.”
He meant that figuratively and literally. Sauerbrunn offered up signed captain’s armbands, jerseys and cleats to encourage donations. She acquired a donation from the RSL foundation and appeared on a Sports Illustrated segment to spread awareness.
Three of the girls representing the United States had never been on a plane before boarding on from JFK airport to Moscow, Executive Director of the National Network for Youth Darla Bardine said.
(Courtesy of the National Network for Youth) The United States placed fifth in the Street Child World Cup in Moscow, Russia May 10-18, 2018.
“The thread throughout the entire time was really about meeting young people from other countries,” said Bardine, who traveled with the United States’ team to Russia. “Sometimes they spoke the same language, most of the time not, but they were able to communicate and connect through soccer, through art and through music.”
Sauerbrunn, in the midst of the NWSL season, hasn’t yet been able to meet the girls she helped send to Moscow. But, because they’re all alumni of DC SCORES, she hopes she’ll have enough time to when the Royals play at Washington in August. Sauerbrunn said she’d like to put them through a training session.
“Her involvement, her voice, her message,” Saffren said, “is the reason we were successful.”