As thousands of students prepare to start summer vacations, the Michigan StateHousing Development Authority (MSHDA) is bracing for a possible rise in homeless children who will not have school systems to provide support.
A new report from MSHDA and Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness (CTEH) shows that the total number of homeless children increased by 22% from 17,181 in. Numbers for this report are from the Michigan State Homeless 2007 to 20,925 in 2009 Management Information System (MSHMIS), a database that provides an unduplicated count of homeless persons living in each of the eight regions of Michigan. The results of the report, broken down by each region, are included in a table at the end of this article.
Seven of the state’s eight regions, representing 79 of Michigan’s 83 counties, reported increases in the number of homeless children in their communities. Local officials blame the economic challenges and the high foreclosure rates as major contributors to the increase in homeless children in Michigan families.
Officials fear that when the school year ends, more children who are homeless could suffer without the state’s K-12 and pre-school programs that provide youth with food and a place to go. As Sally Harrison, MSHDA’s Director of Homeless Initiatives, explained, “This is the quandary that educators have when the end of the school year approaches. During the school year, educators usually have daily access to children who are struggling with homelessness and can provide for their educational and nutritional needs, but during the summer, they don’t always have the same access.”
Homeless children and youth have benefited due to the efforts of the Campaign and local school districts. As Ms. Harrison clarified, “The endless dedication of our Continuums of Care and local networks of service providers throughout the state have substantially improved the nutrition and health of 63% of the homeless youth across Michigan.”
According to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the definition of homelessness used by all public schools in the United States includes children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This definition specifically includes children and youth living in shelters, transitional housing, cars, campgrounds, motels, and sharing the housing of others temporarily due to a loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons. This is the same definition of homelessness used by Head Start, special education, child nutrition, and other federal family and youth programs. The McKinney-Vento Act is designed to remove the barriers to education created by homelessness.
What Can We Do to Help?
There are many ways to help children and youth experiencing homelessness. Financial support is great, but there also is a tremendous need for volunteers at the grass roots level.