When I think of homelessness, I think of post-earthquake Haiti or New Orleans circa 2005. But your city, state, or nation doesn’t have to suffer physical destruction to render families — and schoolchildren — homeless. Economic recession can do much the same thing.
Driving home that point is a new report from First Focus that says nearly 800,000 students were homeless during the 2007-08 school year. Since the beginning of what the nonprofit aptly dubs “the Great Recession,” “more than 26 states collectively report an increase of over 221,000 homeless students, or 50 percent.” This increase has also had a profound impact on school districts in the hardest hit areas, which are struggling with massive budget problems of their own.
To meet this growing need, First Focus is calling on Congress to include $100 million to retain school jobs in the jobs bill now under consideration — money that could be appropriated through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program or through a set-aside portion of the jobs bill.
The impact of homelessness on students — on their academic achievement, their self-image, their very future — can be great, as Senior Editor Naomi Dillon and I reported in last June’s ASBJ. Let’s hope Congress passes a comprehensive jobs bill soon so that districts can continue serving these vulnerable students.
Lawrence Hardy, Senior Editor
