homeless

children

exist

hungry

for

Love means that homeless children once longed for love.

Because the progressive tense can not only represent the behaviors and actions that are going on at a certain moment, but also represent the behaviors and actions that have been going on for a period of time.

this

homeless

children

hungry

for

Love means that homeless children long for love.

The simple past tense only means that you have done something or had a certain state in the past.