Homeless Students

In January of this year, the National Center for Homeless Education released federal education data revealing that a record-high of 1.5 million students were homeless during the 2017-2018 school year.

This number is 11% more than last year, and nearly double the number a decade ago. Many factors have contributed to this rise of homelessness, including sudden natural disasters, worsening gentrification, poverty, lack of affordable housing, and unemployment.

Students experiencing homelessness often move frequently between living situations over the course of a school year, and needless to say, this makes keeping up with coursework and getting a quality education more difficult than it already is.

Studies have shown that homeless students are far more likely to perform worse in academics as a result of the additional challenges they face.

Not only do they lack the normal study spaces and home environment that we often take for granted, but they also lack the stability that is crucial to building their sense of security and normalcy.

How can they worry about schoolwork when they don’t even know if they’ll have a roof over their head?

Homelessness creates multiple barriers to a child’s academic success, including the high rates of relocation that can lead to disruptive school transfers and cause children and youth to fall further and further behind.

For most students experiencing homelessness, public schools are their best and often the only source of support in offering access to basic needs, such as food, clothing, supportive adults, and the education that can be instrumental in changing the trajectory of their lives.

Not completing high school is the greatest single risk factor for experiencing homelessness as a young person, making education a critical intervention point to prevent the cycle from continuing into the next generation of adults and children.

In this day and age, it is difficult to find good career prospects without some amount of higher education, and even more so without a high school diploma. As a result, the impact of homelessness on education has long-lasting effects and will likely put these kids at a great disadvantage in their adult life.

These are undoubtedly major obstacles, yet with greater action and awareness, they are not impossible to overcome.

Just as these kids do the best they can with what they have to work with, so do many educators and adults in organizations such as Firesteel and the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

These groups are dedicated to promoting educational equity for children and youths experiencing homelessness to bring a brighter future for those who need it most.

What do you think?

Let us know here.

1. Have you or someone close to you ever faced homelessness? If so, what’s a challenge that people might not realize can result from being homeless?

2. How has your early education affected who you are today and the career path you find yourself on? Do you think that would have changed if you had faced the additional challenges of homelessness?

Spotlight Writer

Nancy Chea, Intern

Hello! My name is Nancy and I’m a second-year majoring in bio sci with a minor in political science. I love to read, write, and watch anything fantasy (currently making my way through Game of Thrones!). I’m an introvert by nature but an adventurer at heart, and I always love to try new things, whether that be baking a new recipe or going skydiving for the first time! And when I’m not doing any of those, I’m most likely zoned out and daydreaming of other worlds.