Wayland Town Crier 8/18/11: First Parish in Wayland addressing homelessness head-on. The face of homelessness is often that of a child. More than 3,000 families are currently in the state’s overtaxed shelter system; one in every four homeless people is a child. Many families who are homeless are employed, making just enough so they do not qualify for state benefits, yet not earning enough to make ends meet. For many of us, homelessness is abstract. But for volunteers who help to support the Metrowest Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), homelessness becomes real and personal.