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Childhood Homelessness: A Growing Crisis

I can remember the first time I volunteered to hand out clothes and basic necessities at a

homeless shelter in Oakland, California. Witnessing the way that these families and children

lived sparked an interest and concern in my ten-year old mind. I have a great deal of empathy for

these people, but I was more compelled to find out what I could do to help get people out of their

situations and into a better way of life. At a very young age I was taught that one of the most

important morals to live by is to treat people as we would like to be treated. To me, his meant the

treatment towards my siblings, my parents, my peers, and even those I did not know. Through

various other volunteer opportunities, I came to know that it is more important to give, rather

than receive. With these values in mind, seeing homeless people in my own city has inspired me

to want to take action.

I am still just as intrigued by the socioeconomic epidemic of homelessness as I was when

I was a child, however I am more so interested in how homelessness affects children. I am also

interested in how childhood/youth homelessness can affect a person’s childhood development.

Childhood homelessness is a growing crisis that needs to be brought to the forefront of social and

economic change, as statistics show that if it continues to be overlooked, it will only worsen with

time. In researching this subject, I found there are many factors that can be attributed to

childhood homelessness.

As a high school aged youth, with a supportive family and the benefits of financial

stability, I feel that it is simply part of my human responsibility to help make a change. I feel the

call to help give a voice to the children that can’t speak for themselves and to give hope to those

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who have none. This calling has led me to the question: How does childhood homelessness affect

children mentally and emotionally, in the present and in the future?

Homelessness is a common reality for families in the United States with young children.

It is expensive living in the United States and with the addition of childcare expenses, it can be

difficult to support an entire family. The California Department of education defines childhood

homelessness as “children or youth, as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate

nighttime residence”. “National Center on Family Homelessness”, a detailed article addressing

the topic of childhood homelessness, states that, “a staggering 2.5 million children are now

homeless in the United States. This historic high represents one in every thirty children in

America.” Children are homeless in every city, county, and state throughout our country and the

numbers are continuously increasing. There are shelters for children and families located in

many cities and urban areas, but even those that offer resources sometimes fail to provide many

basic necessities for children of a wide variety of ages.

From 2007 to 2010 the number of families that used emergency shelters and transitional

housing increased from 30% to 35%, and many of these families consisted of children and single

mothers (“Homelessness in America”). According to the most recent survey conducted by the

U.S. Conference of Mayors, major cities across the country report that the top causes of

homelessness among families were: lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty and low

wages (“Homelessness in America”). In another survey conducted by city officials, chief factors

of unaccompanied youth include: mental illness, substance abuse, and lack of affordable housing

(Penney). The type of shelters that are made available to families are often large, older houses

where families will stay in just one room. This does not allow space for privacy and some

shelters even lack a place for children to play. Many families that move from shelter to shelter

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end up being separated from each other. “If families do not quickly find permanent housing and

are forced to remain in the shelter system, 40% to 50% of them will break up within 5 years,

with children being sent to live with relatives or placed in foster care, Dr. Bassuk noted”

(Penney). “These children face almost insurmountable obstacles as they become adults and are

often trapped in a cycle of poverty, ill health, and significant social disadvantages” (Penney).

In addition, there are countless numbers of negative effects that homelessness has on a

child and in varying ways. With the lack of basic necessities and education that homeless

children endure, they will be affected mentally, emotionally, and developmentally. As of 2015,

twenty-six percent of children under the age of six experienced life in low-income working

families, in which at least one parent worked fifty weeks or more in the prior year and the family

income is 200 percent below the Federal Poverty Line (Early Childhood Homelessness). This

twenty-six percent of children six years and under are at a vital stage of development that will

have an impact on the rest of their lives. If children do not have their basic needs met, they will

not develop to their full potential. Some of the many effects that homelessness has on young

children are often hunger, interrupted or delayed schooling, and psychological effects such as

depression and anxiety (“Effects of Poverty”).

Due to lack of resources resulting in mental health issues, many homeless children end up

being delayed in their education. Homeless children are two times more likely to have a learning

disability, get suspended, or repeat a grade (“Effects of Poverty”). Many adolescents also tend to

avoid school because of low academic achievement, and fear of the ridicule and judgement by

their peers of their clothing (Rederick). Missing out on educational opportunities has a negative

impact on a young child’s cognitive development, social interactions, and emotional dealings.

The article “The Effects of Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness, on Youth and Children,”

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explains that half of school age children experience problems with depression and anxiety, and

one in five homeless preschoolers have emotional problems that require professional care. The

lack of mentally and physically stimulating activities that these children experience can cause a

delay in speech, language, cognition, and motor development (Reganick). In the long run,

homeless children will constantly be behind advantaged children of their age group because of

the interruption of their education. This evidence clearly shows a definitive effect on the way

homeless children behave both mentally and emotionally.

The lack of education and schooling can also affect a homeless child’s self esteem and

the way they treat others. Many homeless children struggle specifically with the ability to trust

those closest to them. This can be the result of a variety of different things, such as, having to

relocate to multiple foster homes and/or the fear that their parents may leave them for good.

Another underlying factor could be that, due to poverty and lack of resources, the parents may

lose status in the child’s eyes and become unable to provide for their basic, fundamental needs

(Rederick). Thus, the child does not have a positive adult role model. Since the child lacks trust

in the people they should trust the most, it is much more difficult to trust any other adult role

model such as a teacher, social worker, or law enforcement. This distrust can then lead to issues

such as chronic anxiety, being withdrawn, and aggressiveness due to anger (Rederick). The

inability to trust people in authoritative positions can make them vulnerable to compromising

and harmful situations such as human trafficking, abusing drugs and getting trouble with law

enforcement.

Childhood homelessness has pernicious mental effects on children. According to an

article titled, “Mental Health Problems of Homeless Children and Families: Longitudinal Study”,

children who are homeless are subjected to and have higher rates of mental health problems than

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the general population. Some examples of mental health issues are: PTSD, anxiety, depression,

aggression, sleep disturbance, eating disorders, and overactivity. These mental disorders play a

significant role in how youth perform in school and in social situations. If a child is suffering

from sleep deprivation and hunger, they are more likely to lack the concentration necessary to

absorb information. Children who are homeless are more likely to encounter mental, physical

and emotional trauma, causing negative effects on their brain. Children that experience such

trauma tend to have a smaller brain than their average peers. This phenomenon happens when a

child lives with high levels of stress for long periods of time. The brain perceives stress as a

threat, causing the learning part of the brain to be deprived of blood or oxygen, which in turn,

prevents the brain from growing as it should (Dickrell). Despite these findings, research also

shows that a third of the population that endure this type of trauma show resilience, performing

as well as their peers, even without intervention (Dickrell). This research is an indicator that

human resilience is one of the defining factors in the outcomes of many homelessness cases.

While homeless children have been significantly impacted by the trauma in their short

lives, researchers hope that they will benefit from practical and cost-effective intervention that is

focused on building their resiliency and competence (Hart-Shegos). There is a humanitarian

obligation to place these children and their families in suitable, stable housing. (I#1) In an

interview with Sepinesh A. Guild, a social worker who received her master’s in mental health at

the University of Southern California gives many examples. Guilds mentioned, “Community-

based intervention such as drop-in-centers, offers youth a bridge off the streets to the mainstream

such as a safe space where youth can receive free meals, have access to showers, laundry,

clothing, drug and alcohol recovery.” She then went on to say, “Case management is required in

most centers in order to help youth with social services and outside resources.” These centers are

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also known to provide mental health support and engagement activities that are focused on skill

building which seem to be very beneficial. Homeless youth must have immediate accessibility to

appropriate resources and their parents should receive the support that is necessary to act as their

primary caregiver(s) (Hart-Shegos). Parental support is is vital to their child(rens) success

because it will help the child regain trust and confidence in themselves and other adult role

models.

The ways in which childhood homelessness affects children both mentally and

emotionally are very clear. The experiences that these children undergo on a daily basis are

fueled by inconsistency and are the cause of a variety of negative effects on the brain, which, in

turn, affects their self esteem and their social interactions. Homelessness impacts a child’s life in

many ways and more often than not, the effects of homelessness are life-long. (I#2) Social

worker Erica Ward, who works in San Diego with children in foster programs, said “children

react to homelessness in different ways; some become internal and withdrawn due to social

embarrassment, while other may act out and seek attention.” She added that withdrawal and

embarrassment are a response some may exhibit. “Children who withdraw as a reaction to

homelessness may feel ashamed of their financial situation and avoid close friendships for fear of

disclosure or judgment.” She went on to say, “social gatherings outside of school may also be

difficult for these children as they do not have a stable place to host activities. Cleanliness can be

an issue as well, causing the child to feel insecure and subject to ridicule by their peers.” Ward,

who has a master’s degree in social work, explained that for children who seek to meet their

needs through external means, behavioral problems may surface. “Often it is difficult for a

homeless parent to properly attend to their child’s needs and a lack of nurturance or supervision

may occur,” she explained. She then continued, “this places the child at risk for finding

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dysfunctional ways to gain emotional nurturance and security, and may result in bullying,

defiance, or emotional instability.”

Homelessness also takes a toll on society without childhood intervention. In fact, at the

University of Minnesota, an economist named Steve Foldes created a “study for a youth shelter

in Minneapolis to determine the excess lifetime cost that comes from youth homelessness if there

is not intervention” (Dickrell). Let us be reminded that not every child has intervention

accessibility. Foldes, the economist mentioned in Dickrell’s article examined this issue finding

the cost to society to include, “a wide range of expenses such as: lost earnings, lost tax

payments, public expenditures and victim costs for crime, welfare cost, public costs for

healthcare, education and job training and public support of housing” (Dickrell). Keeping those

costs in mind, Foldes “applied them to the 151 homeless children in Minneapolis and came to the

conclusion that the total excess cost to society would end up being $93 million” (Dickrell).

In this revealing article, Foldes puts into perspective the exorbitant amount of public expenditure

that is being used on reactionary measures such as incarceration, welfare and health care. If

effective intervention is made accessible to all homeless children, these expenditures can

potentially be avoidable. This is one of the many reasons that homelessness prevention is so

important. If we, as a society, cannot completely prevent childhood homelessness, it is in the

child’s best interest that intervention is accessible to them. When a child becomes homeless the

hope for them is that they will be eventually be able to get out of the vicious cycle, but that does

not happen for every homeless child. In fact,

A youth who becomes homeless is lucky if they survive at all, and if they do survive,

many have life-long difficulties with post traumatic stress and/or other mental illness,

physical illness, economic and legal liabilities, lack of education and employability, lack

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of family, community, and social supports...and on and on. As one homeless youth put it,

“Loss is the law on the streets.”18 Once a youth has experienced this level of loss (loss of

family or origin, loss of safety, security, and possessions, loss of beloved friends and

animals, the loss of feelings of self-worth that come with sexual exploitation, etc.), once a

youth has been in a survival mindset, which is necessary and adaptive on the street where

safety, food, and sleep are never guaranteed, it can feel impossible to come back.

(Edmonds-Allen 15)

Although it is heartbreaking, this deep sense of loss is so ingrained in those that suffer from

chronic homelessness that they cannot identify with someone who is a successful, active

participant in society. This revelation is yet another very important reason for early intervention.

Homelessness is incurable, but short term alternatives exist for surrounding communities

and societies. The article titled, “Child Homelessness Can Have Long Term Effects”, provides

many insightful examples of things that society can do to help prevent youth homelessness in the

short term. The following suggestions are simple and achievable and seem to have the potential

to boldly change a child’s life. Increase housing options for youth including housing that

provides support to families and kids and support for families in poverty to stay in their homes.

Help to facilitate the natural support system in a child’s life; i.e., regular communication with a

loving and trusting adult that can stay connected and perhaps provide housing stability. Address

issues for kids coming out of the child welfare system or foster care.

The aforementioned suggestions are a step forward in providing a reasonable baseline for

children experiencing youth homelessness and they are all within reach. Dickrell, author of the

article that included university research, states, “I feel it’s the issue of our times in the United

States, how to invest in child development and address the inequality that’s undermining our

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future. The well-being of these children affects everybody.” It is our job as a society to be the

voice for children who don’t have one and to give them hope when they have none.

In conclusion, youth homelessness is a rising issue that needs to be brought to the

forefront of social and economic change. Youth homelessness affects children in an abundance

of ways and it is our job as a society to try our best in preventing this from being our future. With

that said,

“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is

easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of

someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love

for each other must start.” -Mother Theresa

Works Cited

“Definition of Homeless Children and Youths.” Definition of MTSS - Multi-Tiered System of

Supports (CA Dept of Education), www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs/homelessdef.asp. Accessed

March 2, 2019.

Dickrell, Stephanie. “Child Homelessness Can Have Long-Term Consequences.” St.

Cloud Times, SCTimes, 4 June 2016,

www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/homelesskids/2016/06/04/child-homelessness-can-

have-long-term-consequences/84902750/. Accessed March 11, 2019.

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Edmonds-Allen , Marian. “Preventing Youth Homelessness.” Faith Forward , edited by

Rachel Peterson , Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen, 2018, pp. 15–15. Accessed March 11,

2019.

“Effects of Poverty, Hunger and Homelessness on Children and Youth.” American

Psychological Association, American Psychological Association,

www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty Accessed March 2, 2019.

Guild, A. Sephinesh. Social Worker. Interview. April 17, 2019.

Hart-Shegos , Ellen. Homelessness and Its Effects on Children . Dec. 1999, www.fhfund.org/wp-

content/uploads/2014/10/Homlessness_Effects_Children.pdf Accessed March 10, 2019.

“Homeless Children and Youth.” Child Trends,

www.childtrends.org/indicators/homeless-children-and-youth Accessed March 6, 2019.

Homeless in America: Overview of Data and Causes . Jan. 2015, nlchp.org/wp-

content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf Accessed March 2, 2019.

Lbogle. “National Center on Family Homelessness.” American Institutes for Research, 27 Sept.

2018, www.air.org/center/national-center-family-homelessness. Accessed March 1, 2019.

Penney, Darby. “Child Homelessness: A Growing Crisis.” 2015.

https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/child-

homelessness-growing-crisis Accessed March 6, 2019.

Reganick, Karol A. "Prognosis for homeless children and adolescents." Childhood Education,

vol. 73, no. 3, 1997, p. 133+. Student Resources In Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A19263545/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=SUIC&xid=850

e0837. Accessed March 10, 2019.

Ward, Erica. Social Worker. Email Interview. March 12, 2019.

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