The New Face of Homelessness

By Marsha Basloe, Senior Advisor for Early Childhood Development

Last month, I had the opportunity to talk about early childhood homelessness and the work of the Early Childhood Workgroup made up of multiple federal agencies in Kansas City, Mo., for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) National Conference. Nearly a 1,000 people attended the meeting all focused on improving the lives of children and youth at risk of and experiencing homelessness.  I attended workshops, answered numerous questions, made connections for people, presented a workshop and learned a lot!

There are a lot of people who are interested in early childhood homelessness. And they should be! Unfortunately, young children are one of the growing populations of homelessness. Over 50 percent of children served by HUD-funded emergency/transitional housing providers in 2012 were age five or younger.¹

The first five years of life are critical in a child’s development. Eighty percent of a child’s brain is developed by age three. Studies show that young children – regardless of economic standing – who are exposed to an educational environment that nurtures the social, emotional and cognitive skills do better later in life. For many children living in unstable home environments – stress is a daily reality – including the infant who feels the tension in his or her little body every day.  That kind of constant stress has some serious health implications.

When the conference was over, the ACF Office of Child Care Regional Manager made arrangements for me to meet with community members on early childhood homelessness for a listening and learning session. OCC Regional Program Manager Betty Lammle, OCC Child Care Specialist Janet Crain and Region OHS Supervisory Program Specialist Ann Johnson and I visited the YMCA Head Start - Metro Early Learning Center in Kansas City. We visited with staff from the center, representatives from other Head Start delegates, transition coordinators from local school districts, and parents of enrolled children who are homeless. Also present were representatives from the Homeless Services Coalition. The Coalition is made up of service providers, consumers, community leaders, government agencies and others in the Greater Kansas City metro area who have come together, under the central umbrella of the Homeless Services Coalition, to help eradicate homelessness in their community. Following the discussion, we had the chance to tour the facility.

The Metro Early Learning Center has a working relationship with an area homeless shelter and has increased the number of homeless families the center serves. With vigorous outreach, the homeless population served by all the YMCA centers is now about seven percent of the 3,000 families served in the metro area.

The discussion focused on issues homeless families face and their efforts to ensure their children are participating in quality early learning programs that support the children’s healthy development and the families’ needs. All of the parents present needed full-day child care for their children while they worked or engaged in school, training or recovery programs. Parents and staff shared issues and challenges from transportation, subsidy paperwork for support, to moving from temporary housing and the impact on a family. We listened, took notes and I returned to Washington, D.C. with much information. There is much work to do to help our families and young children.

Everyone can help.

November is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, an annual, month-long series of educational events, service projects and fundraisers aimed at teaching about the root causes of poverty and hunger. It begins a year-long educational opportunity!

The weather has now grown colder and the plight of individuals and families without permanent homes becomes even more difficult.  

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, many people take time to consider what they’re thankful for and donate some of their time, attention and resources to those less fortunate. I hope you will think about young children and step up, through time or money, to preventing further child poverty in our communities.

¹U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012). 6th Annual Homelessness Report. Washington DC: HUD.