That is horrible. For my son when he was my daughters age and his early teens as well as now for my daughter my house tends to be the gathering place. I don’t mind it though. I like being the house kids like being at because I know that they do it because they feel safe, and well always having plenty of stuff to eat/snacks doesn’t hurt either.
When we still lived in Kenmore and it was the summer before my son went into 8th grade it wasn’t uncommon for 2-4 of his friends to be at my house/general area from mid afternoon until well after dinner.
Not because any of them had situations like what you just described, they just either had parents who worked odd hours or as his friends use to put it “you actually know how to cook and keep better snacks in your house”.