Homeless Youth: A Growing Epidemic in Our Schools
“Christine” is an 11th grader and attends a large suburban high school in West Michigan. She, her three siblings and their mother live with her aunt and uncle and their four children in a three-bedroom house. Christine says her mother lost her job working at the machine shop so they stay in one bedroom above the garage and pay rent with the $200.00 her mother gets from food stamps. She glanced away as she spoke to me in a hushed tone and said that she is quite worried that they will loose all their “stuff” they have in storage because the bill to pay the monthly storage fee is coming due soon. All this to deal and worry about in addition to: high school classes, credit recovery after school class, transportation home after school, doing homework, finding clean clothes to wear, or something other than junk food to eat. At 17 years old she should be enjoying high school and not worrying about adult life issues and being homeless.
Yes, Christine is homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act. She is “doubled-up” with a relative (or friend) in a non-permanent arrangement. Contrary to belief: homelessness does not just mean living on the streets, in a car, or in a shelter. The No Child Left Behind Act describes homeless children and youth as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”
How many students are doubled-up in your school or district? Do you even know? The “Christine’s” in your district are really difficult to find, because first of all, their situation might be to them, taboo or too embarrassing to share. That is where the job of the Homeless Liaison becomes vital to educating the staff, students, families, and community about the McKinney-Vento Act. Students that have been identified as homeless have rights and privileges to help them in school with: enrollment, transportation, free meals, academic assistance, before and after school programs, tutoring, participation in sports, music and other activities that are available to every other student. However, because of economic, social, and added organizational barriers the educational inequality increases for unidentified homeless students and they tend to fall further behind academically mostly due to the generally highly transit and mobility status of homeless families.
What are some ways to start to identify your homeless students?
- Make sure every staff member knows who the Homeless Liaison is for your district. Educate your staff in the homeless categories defined by where people live. i.e.: Unsheltered, transitional housing, temporary housing facility, foster, doubled-up, and motel-hotel.
- Educate your staff to the common signs that are shown by some homeless students’ including: hunger, poor nutrition, sadness/depression, poor grades, and poor attitudes toward school- themselves and others, school records from many schools, as well as trouble learning and paying attention.
- Encourage your entire staff to build trust and relationships with all students, begin with greeting them as they enter the school and each classroom. Have teacher/student conferences, listen in classroom discussions, read their writing, and pay attention to student non-verbal cues and watch for changes in behavior and attitudes.
- Meet regularly with teams of staff to connect about students you have questions about to see what interventions can be made to support the students.
- Check new student files to see how frequently he/she has changed schools. Notice the new student that is socially awkward or has difficultly making friends.
- Notice: a parent who seems confused when asked about the last school attended, a low income hotel address on enrollment form, statement form family when enrolling such as, “We’ve been having a hard time lately, it’s a new address”. If the family fills out a Residency Affidavit send the information to the Homeless Liaison for further review.
- Listen to the other students and without betraying confidences, refer student(s) in question to the Homeless Liaison. Know that the student’s situation will be evaluated and if the student is indeed homeless, he/she will be entered into the program so that needs can be met and supported with appropriate services.
In addition to being ‘doubled-up’ with friends or relatives, another type of McKinney-Vento homeless living arrangement includes that which some high school or alternative high school students find themselves in as an “Unaccompanied Youth” where they do not live with a biological parent or legal guardian. Some unaccompanied youth may be a runaway, refuge, throwaway, or in these tough economic times, the oldest child that cannot be supported at home anymore. It is up to the schools to find these students, meet with them, find out their needs, and match them with the school and community services that will help them to reach their full potential.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act is a Federal Law. Title IA funds subsidize the expenses schools accrue to support the homeless students and their educational needs. Most of all, we as educators must believe with the extra time and effort we make to build relationships with students regardless of their situation, we can find and support all of our “Christine’s” and help them develop the academic and survival skills that will successfully lead them to a healthy and productive life.
Peg Cramer M.A. Consultant 