It has occurred to me that Bowdoin College has an obligation to offer assistance in addressing the youth homelessness crisis in Brunswick. My hope is that the Maine Sunday Telegram’s May 12 feature article “Young and on their own” (Page A1) may compel them to do so.

Youth homelessness in Maine, and in Brunswick in particular, has been accelerating at alarming rates. To cite data used in the Telegram article, the number of homeless students in Brunswick schools has jumped from 14 to 92 since 2014, and has seen a 264 percent increase in the last three years.

Brunswick’s Bowdoin College is fortunate enough to have an astounding $1.63 billion endowment whose growth has been unparalleled by the portfolios of many Ivy League schools, according to a March article in The New York Times.

In light of this article and information on youth homelessness in Brunswick, I believe it is the responsibility of Bowdoin to decide to take action on this heart-wrenching problem. As a figurehead of education in the state, improving the ability of young people to thrive as students and in life is central to Bowdoin’s mission as a highly successful institution of higher learning. Even a small amount of money in the eyes of Bowdoin could create monumental changes in the lives of many students in the town that Bowdoin calls its home.

James McCatherin

Portland