More than 269,000 California public school students don’t have a consistent place to call home at night. Most of these students range from preschool through 5th grade, and live in inadequate homes with friends or family, sleep in cars, or on the streets. Shockingly, only 15 percent of districts reported having no homeless students enrolled at their schools. Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego are some of the school districts that have the highest rates of homelessness in their student population. Brenda Dowdy, a liaison between the school and homeless students in San Bernardino County, recounts visiting a house that had 21 children and their parents staying in it, “There was no running water or a refrigerator. The kids had placed a mattress in a closet and treated it as if it were a room.”
Many of these students experience great difficulty in continuing their education and maintaining their grades due to their unstable living conditions. Most are hungry, don’t have a place to do homework with an internet connection, or even a place to shower. School becomes a hope and distraction for them, and most likely is their only way of escaping homelessness. Patricia Julianelle, director of state projects at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, said on a conference call with the press, “For many of these students, school is their primary safety net or their only safety net.”
When one sees homeless youth on the streets, it is inferred that
In Eleanor J. Baders Homeless Campus article, it talks about numerous of students that were homeless while going to school. Some of the students continued schooling because they wanted their education without letting anyone know they were homeless, they should have spoken up for help or withdraw because it was hard for them to continue on. Some even camped out in the woods or even couch surf, because there was no other place for them to go. It was even hard for them to stay clean, and when the school was empty, and no one was around some of the students went to the gym to take showers. Some slept in their cars; because that was the only place, they could sleep in. It was a hard life for these students, especially the ones who had a child to take care of. It was hard for the parent because they could not feed and clean the child nor did they have anyone to take a cause of the child.
Homelessness is a major issue and there are not enough laws to support it. One of the policies that has a lot of history and has being going on for a long time is The McKinney Act where it addresses long-term solutions for homelessness children. The McKinney act is funded by the government and treats children the same to make sure they get their education under their circumstances. It gives them the opportunity to learn and gain enough knowledge, to be able to make a change in their lives. Unfortunately the act was declined from many states because of its insufficient funds and it’s failure of the mission and goals. Also, this article explains the critique of this act. Some of the critiques that imply to this act are not identifying families and students that are homeless in schools due to not enough staff, not enough funding, lack of knowledge and lack of awareness of the needs that homelessness needs. Policy recommendations and policy funds are also included in this document. The McKinney Act is a great policy that is needed more than ever for the homeless population and it needs to get back into the school systems. It is important because we need everything that can help the vulnerable population and their families by using these services and sources to give every child a chance to go to school and be successful but without these funds that chance is easily vanished
The homeless are impacted far more by everyday issues than those who are not. Often times, homeless children can be sick four times as much as middle class children and have superior rates of acute and recurring illnesses. In addition, they experience emotional and behavioral problems can hinder with learning at almost three times the rate of other children. “Homeless children between 6 and 17 years struggle with high rates of mental health problems. For example, 47% have problems
One of the biggest leading social issues around the world is homelessness. In the United States alone, there are more than half a million people experiencing homelessness. There are different factors that led a person to homelessness, economic, social, political issues, and natural disasters. But in the United States, homelessness is often caused by system failure, and people and with related issues. A brief history of homelessness, the issues documented during the early colonial period, back then it was viewed as a character flaw in the person and not outside causes. The Great Depression hits the United States hard and millions lost their jobs result in homelessness. Comes swooping in with the New Deal policy from presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt helps save the economy by providing jobs and helps reduce homeless population (Homelessness). In the early 80’s the economy was losing jobs again due to the decline of manufacturing, causes a high-rise in homelessness. That led to many cutbacks in affordable housing, medical care that makes many mentally ill patients unable to afford housing. With that many Individuals with disabilities or mental health issues that can’t afford proper health can be in danger of homelessness. But for those who are already living on the streets don’t have access to nutrient, personal hygiene, and other serious health conditions. There is some organization across the United States that provides health care service for
Every night across America, roughly 32,000 people between the ages of 18 and 24 are homeless (Youth Homelessness). In the same night, hundreds of thousands of girls say goodnight to their fellow sorority sisters before crawling into their beds. As a Panhellenic community, University of Nebraska gives girls the opportunities to create friendships, form connections, and build strong women. We are called to be active members of society, and use our fortunate lives to change the world we live in. After visiting Community First! Village of Austin, Texas, it has become aware to me the severity of homelessness in America and how simple it can be to change it. Community First! not only builds tiny homes through donations for homeless people around Austin, but gives them a community to become a part of. Donating money to build a tiny house at Community First! Village would not only strengthen UNL’s Panhellenic Council’s generous reputation, but also support the movement to end homelessness through providing a home and community to a young outcasted individual.
Homeless is not just an issue in the city of San Diego but throughout the entire country. An unimaginable situation that happens to countless people all across America. According to Social Solutions, “Over 564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless...over half a million people were living on the streets, in cars, in homeless shelters, or in subsidized transitional housing during a one-night national survey last January. Of that number, 206,286 were people in families, 358,422 were individuals, and a quarter of the entire group were children” (2016’s Shocking). Clearly, homelessness is a major problem that affected over half a million people just last year. Most
Homelessness is a pressing issue that affects everyone all over the world, of all ages, all race and all sexes. There is an inexcusable amount of young people who are homeless. 17% of all homeless people are under the age of twelve. That could be the age of a younger sibling. Imagine if they were homeless, living on the streets. This is the reality that some have to face
The McKinney-Vento Housing Assistance Act impact homeless student and parents in a positive way. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides provisions for the homeless population and to school districts to alleviate some of the effects of homelessness on school age children and families. The Act removes barriers to help homeless children enroll and attend school of origin. Next, the Act provides a stable school environment when they have unstable living conditions. At school students have consistent routines, they are provided their own desk where they could have a sense of stability and space to put their school materials (thicks25digitalmuseum.com). When children are at school they have the opportunity to eat a balance
People who are suffering from mental illness are more likely to become homeless than a mentally able person. Mental illness affects more than half of homeless adults, as reported by the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. (Donovan, 27) Because of their homelessness, they are often not able to get the care and medicine that they need. People, regardless of socioeconomic status, should have good healthcare readily available to them. In the US Declaration of Independence, it states that every citizen has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, homeless citizens are being robbed of their right to life when they are unable to access healthcare, and be treated for their illnesses.
Unemployment and lack of education plays a major role in these individual homeless people’s lives. With unemployment and high school dropout rates rising, homelessness cannot be prevented. Kids are taught from a young age to stay in school because the ones that dropout around high school is more than likely to become homeless. High school dropouts are likely to become homeless because they are likely to get kicked out of their dysfunctional home, or possibly run away from home feeling as if they are not good enough for the family. Dropouts will find it difficult to preserve a job, most will turn to drugs, becoming an addict, only hoping that it will make things better, really just increasing the rate of poverty and homelessness.
In Judy Daniels’ article entitled "Humanistic Interventions for Homeless Students: Identifying and Reducing Barriers to Their Personal Development," the author is successful in describing real-life examples of the effects of homelessness on school-aged children. She starts out with the story of Angie, a high school student who lives in a tent with her mother and two siblings. After being caught for fighting with her classmates, Angie is sent to the counselor’s office where she confesses her frustration with her current living situation.
Throughout New York or even the United States, there are many people who are homeless and without jobs to help them survive. Many mothers and fathers are struggling to keep their homes while others are already out in New York streets trying to seek help. Those who are already on the streets are seeking charity from others as the walk by them. And to stop this from ever happening there should be more shelters, jobs, and help/supporters.
When diving into the article the first area I noticed that would help me as a future administrator was identification of homeless students and how to identify them. This issue probably isn’t discussed by many in our class. As a Title I, educator I have experienced a lot of students who do not have the best home life. At Laurel School we have several students who do not live with their guardian’s full time and bounce from home to home. As an administrator I need know
Imagine a young child growing up, learning, and trying to further his or her life to obtain success in the future. For an “everyday” child this can be challenging, however “everyday” obstacles can be overcome. For thousands of children in the United States, this dream is almost impossible to achieve. These children are a part of the homeless population that is spread throughout the United States. Many times these individuals try to hide this major secret from the rest of the world, but homelessness is very prevalent among these youths today. Various problems occur in these peoples’ lives that others could not even begin to understand. Homelessness affects children in every stage of life physically, mentally, and emotionally.
With the number of homeless students on the rise, schools encounter new educational challenges that include: