Note to the reader: given the number of web addresses provided on this page, it is possible you will encounter a link that is no longer valid. The webmaster would appreciate a quick note of an outdated link at info@homelessfund.org. Links last verified May 20, 2010.
Skip to new resources added July 2010
Report on family homelessness, Poverty Quiz, Poverty USA Tour
The facts about homelessness among families with children in Allegheny County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
Attend to these statistics from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services' Point-in-Time survey on a day in January 2010. Programs addressing the needs of the homeless and participating in the point-in-time survey include hospitals, soup kitchens, day programs, street outreach, emergency shelters, transitional housing of various types, and permanent housing. It is important to understand that not every person, child, or family who is homeless will be counted in such a survey.
- 875: the number of children being served by homelessness programs from street outreach to permanent housing (up from 546 in January 2008 and 631 in January 2009)
- 319: the number of single women with children being served by these programs (up from 286)
- 7.5: the average age of these children (down from 8)
- 36%: the percentage of individuals being served that are children (up from 28%); children are now the largest segment of the county's homeless population, surpassing the traditionally greater number of single men (now at 31% of the total)
On March 10, 2009, the National Center on Family Homelessness released its report on America's Youngest Outcasts. It numbers children homeless in Pennsylvania at 43,103. 18,103 of these were unschooled children 6 years and younger, 19,167 were students enrolled in grades K-8, and 5,833 were enrolled in grades 9-12. These numbers do not include approximately 10,618 "homeless unaccompanied youth" living in Pennsylvania. See a summary of Pennsylvania's Report Card.
The U.S. Department of Education recorded some 950,000 children and youths experiencing homelessness in public schools in the 2008-09 school year, a 40% increase over the previous year. This is likely an under count since not all such children are identified as such and much depends on the accuracy of statistics from reporting school districts and state departments of education.
What are these children's rights when it comes to their schooling?
The educational rights of the Pennsylvania children who are homeless and of all children experiencing homelessness in the United States are secured by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. See McKinney-Vento Act at a Glance
Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Act, signed into law in July 1987, included authorization of the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program. A fact sheet provided by the National Coalition for the Homeless (June 2008) includes a summary of amendments to the act. The critically important 1994 amendment "provided local educational authorities with greater flexibility in the use of funds; specified the rights of preschoolers to a free and appropriate public preschool education; gave parents a voice regarding their children's school placement; and required educational authorities to coordinate with housing authorities."
- Children must be allowed to remain in the school they were attending before becoming homeless and for the entire time they are homeless, even if they move from place to place.
- The school district must arrange transportation for children who choose to remain at their school of origin but have moved outside that school's boundaries. This may require a long bus ride for the child.
- Children must be enrolled without delay, even if they lack necessary documentation or immunization records.
- Children cannot be segregated from peers solely because of their residential status.
- School districts are mandated to hire/train a homeless liaison to coordinate services and ensure compliance with federal/state mandates.
See Pennsylvania's code and regulations regarding the education of youth who are homeless, updated February 3, 2010.
McKinney-Vento and Title I
The McKinney-Vento Act was created in 1987 in response to reports to Congress that up to 50% of children who are homeless were not enrolled in and attending school. The Act seeks to ensure the enrollment, attendance, and success of these children and youth in school. Each year Congress must approve the amount budgeted to meet these expectations. For the 2008-9 fiscal year that amount was $65 million, amounting to "a paltry $65 per child" according to HEAR US, a nonprofit organization that is a strong voice for increased federal funding. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Program Funds made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was $70,000,000. (See pg 1 of this document). Given the rise in numbers of children and youth who are homeless, one can anticipate that this increased funding amounts to approximately $70 per child during the current fiscal year.
These students are recognized as an important part of Title I, Part A's target population of disadvantaged students. Homelessness continues to be associated with lower standardized test scores, high absenteeism, multiple school transfers, and deep poverty.
The high mobility, trauma, and living conditions associated with homelessness create unique educational barriers and challenges that non-homeless Title I students may not face; thus students who are homeless often require additional supports for academic achievement and success.
Collaboration between homeless programs and Title I Services is critical to meeting the unique needs of these at-risk children.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides the following definition of homelessness as it relates to children and youths: individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, specifically:
- children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement
- children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
- children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
- migratory children who are living in circumstances described above
See Who Is Homeless
The challenge of enumerating the number of children homeless in the United States lies in the differences of these living situations. The National Center on Family Homelessness report on America's Youngest Outcasts notes 56% of children living with homeless parents are living in the housing of others; 24% are living in homeless housing agencies, 7% are in hotels/motels, and 3% are "unsheltered." The living circumstances of 10% are "unknown or other."
See America's Youngest Outcasts: full report
Recommended viewing and reading
The PEC – People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia summary of the 5th Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress and a July 2010 policy brief comparing education-related data for students homeless in Pennsylvania
A Poverty quiz, provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Take a moment to do the quiz. How well did you score? Were you surprised by the numbers? Now view this Poverty USA Tour.
Other useful resources:
http://www.hearus.us/projects/my-own-four-walls-video.html This link will take you to information about the acclaimed documentary My Own Four Walls, in which children and teens talk about what it means to be homeless. The DVD is available for purchase at this site. See also HEAR US below.
Mary Ellen Flannery begins her lead article for the NEA Today Magazine (January 2009)— "How do you assign homework to a kid without a home?" — with these sentences: "You can't practice the violin in a homeless shelter. Not really, not if you don't want to wake the babies — and you don't want to wake the babies." You also can't sleep yourself. One teacher reported of her student: ". . . after weeks of shelter noises and nightmares, she could barely keep her head off the desk" Flannery quotes Wendy Giebink, a long-time homeless liaison: "A second-grader in a motel isn't on a vacation" and Jody Tompros, a director of transitional housing: "Homelessness is like a death and they are grieving" and Paige Swanson, middle school counselor: "Homeless children have been disappointed so many times they won't take stock in anybody's words. You've got to let them trust again." But as Paige's supervisor Kim Snell observed: "We have gifted homeless children, very talented homeless children. We have homeless children with great dreams and expectations for their lives, and they achieve them. We don't need to feel sorry for them. We just need to assist them in the ways that we can. We don't need to have the same expectations for everybody, but have expectations based on the very best that each child can achieve."
See also The New York Times article of September 5, 2009, "Surge in Homeless Pupils Strains Schools", the Chicago Parent story " American Dream in Crisis" (8/29/09), and the National Radio Project's "How We Survive: The Deepening Homeless Crisis" — the story of a family (parents and three children) who lost their home and are living in a trailer in a city parking lot *8/29/09).
Two noteworthy books on children and homelessness, both personal accounts, are Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America by Tiny, (aka Lisa Gray-Garcia), 2006, City Lights Foundation Books; and The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls, 2005, Scribners. Both are available on Amazon.com.
Google Alerts is a useful tool for tracking the issues related to children and homelessness. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en and fill in the form on the right to create your Google alert. Use "homeless children" as your search term. Select "comprehensive" and choose the frequency of alerts
Serving families who are homeless in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
There are a number of facilities in Allegheny County serving children and their moms. (The Salvation Army also serves single men with children and Bridge to Independence serves intact families with a married mom and dad.)
Each is unique, with different strengths and funding sources. Each meets basic needs in accordance with its particular mission and purpose. Typically emergency housing is for 30-60 days, bridge housing for 90 days to 1 year, transitional housing from 1-2 years, and permanent housing indefinitely.
In the city of Pittsburgh:
- Primary Care Health Services (no website)
Open Arms – 2-year transitional housing
San Kofa House – permanent housing
New Beginnings – 30-day emergency shelter
Penn Free Bridge Housing – bridge housing
- Salvation Army Family Caring Center – emergency and bridge housing
- Sojourner House – residential rehabilitation facility (generally 5-6 months) and
- Sojourner House MOMS – long-term housing
- Three Rivers Youth – The Hub – drop-in center primarily for youths 18-21
- Womanspace East, Inc – 30-day emergency shelter, 1-year bridge housing, 2-year transitional housing
- Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh – 60-day emergency shelter and off-site transitional housing
- YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Housing Programs – bridge housing for up to 2 years and permanent supportive housing for women struggling with both addictions and mental illness and their children
Elsewhere in Allegheny County:
- Adagio Health's Healthy Start House – bridge housing up to 18 months
- Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center – 30-day emergency shelter and 2-year transitional housing
- Allegheny Valley Association of Churches Interfaith Hospitality Network – emergency housing up to one week at a time and permanent housing
- Bridge to Independence
Debra House – bridge housing 6-12 months
Family Focus – transitional housing (intact families)
Families First – transitional housing
Penn Free Bridge – bridge and transitional housing
- Crisis Center North – counseling and educational resource center for victims of domestic violence
- HEARTH Benedictine Place – transitional housing up to 2 years; anticipating a permanent housing site
- Sisters Place – transitional up to 2 years and permanent housing
- Womansplace – 30-day domestic violence shelter and transitional housing for 1-2 years
Some useful definitions
Emergency shelter: a refuge and care facility for persons who are in immediate need of housing and are homeless (having no permanent legal residence of their own).
Bridge housing: a transitional service that allows persons who are in temporary housing to move to supportive long-term living arrangements while preparing to live independently. Penn Free Bridge housing is a one-year transitional housing and case management service that allows persons who are in temporary housing and who have drug and/or alcohol problems to move to supportive living arrangements while preparing to live independently.
Permanent housing: permanent housing for persons with disabilities (typically, but not exclusively, those with a mental illness and the disease of addiction). This is community-base, long-term housing with supportive services designed to enable persons with disabilities to live as independently as possible in a permanent setting.
Map of housing locations in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
Want to learn more?
Find these .pdf-formatted fact sheets at the National Coalition for the Homeless (links updated August 2009):
The National Coalition for the Homeless is an advocacy network of persons who are homeless, activists, service providers, and others committed to ending homelessness through education, policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, and technical assistance. It co-sponsors the annual National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week each November) with the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. The Coalition's website includes information about homelessness, legislative efforts, and the programs of the NCH, as well as a library, directory, and a host of Internet resources.
Wondering what you can do about homelessness? Here are NCH's suggestions. If you are a resident of southwestern Pennsylvania or a business operating in the region, consider becoming a partner or volunteer with HCEF through the donation of your contributions and/or your time.
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty based in Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh's Education Law Center of Pennsylvania effectively protect the rights of people who are homeless and implement solutions to end homelessness in American through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania (with offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia)focuses on ensuring ready access to public education for children who are poor and/or homeless, children of color, children with disabilities, English language learners, children in foster homes and institutions, and others. See the Education Law Center's list of publications on residency and enrollment and specifically the Fact Sheet: The Right of Homeless Children to Attend School.
See also the March 2010 news release on a suit the two organizations brought against the Carlynton School District (PA) that "ensures the continued enrollment of homeless children and significantly revises Pennsylvania state policies to better protect the rights of homeless students" and this story on the suit from the Pennsylvania RealEstateRama.
Other helpful sites
Children’s Defense Fund Dedicated to Leave No Child Behind by providing a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote or lobby for themselves. Contains a comprehensive overview of each of CDF’s five major issue areas, information about their activities and programs, and extensive data for each state, including Pennsylvania.
First Focus A bipartisan advocacy organization that is "committed to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions" with health, education, family economics, child welfare, and child safety their five issue areas. Read its late 2008 report The Impact of the Mortgage Crisis on Children.
HEAR US A nonprofit advocaty organization that "gives voice and visibility to homeless children, youth and families." See especially the Understanding Homelessness page.
Institute for Children and Poverty A nonprofit research and development organization founded in New York City in 1990. Its focus is on family homelessness, public policy, data collection, research on the causes of homelessness, and public awareness. Though based in New York City, ICP works with organizations across the United States to conduct and disseminate research on families experiencing homelessness. It offers an informative e-mail bulletin. See also this "Quick Facts" listing of important data on family homelessness.
Kids Voice Founded in 1908 as the Legal Aid Society of Pittsburgh. Provides full-service, multi-dimensional advocacy for vulnerable children. Teams attorneys with in-house experts in social work, mental health, education, child development, case management, and substance abuse services.
National Alliance to End Homelessness Nonprofit membership organization dedicated to solving the problems of homelessness and to preventing its continued growth. Site contains information on programs; practices; legislation; a bibliography of fact sheets, statistics, and reports; and suggestions for advocacy. Of particular interest is a January 2009 report entitled Homelessness Counts: Changes in Homelessness from 2005 to 2007.
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) National membership association linking educators, parents, advocates, and researchers to serve as the voice and the social conscience for the education of children and youth in homeless situations. Make a point of regularly visiting the Legislative Update to learn about bills presented to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate addressing the issues of children and education. Take time to peruse NAECHY's
Frequently Asked Questions on the Education Rights of Children and Youth in Homeless Situations – Updated November 2009
(a .pdf document that can be downloaded and/or printed), a most valuable and to-the-point outlining of each of these rights. The document includes a detailed index to each unique Question. The individual questions soon will be hyperlinked for quick access here.
National Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP) This non-profit public policy and research center is a division of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City. It's mission is to promote the "economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children." Read on line or download the December 2009 paper, Ten Important Questions About Child Poverty and Family Economic Hardship.
National Center on Family Homelessness offers a report on "America'a Youngest Outcasts." The report includes state-by-state data. See also the organization's principal site, which includes an opportunity to sign-up for it's newsletter.
National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE Website provides access to the McKinney-Vento Act and numerous resources on the educational rights of children and youth who are homeless. Also available are posters outlining the rights of parents and students and the obligations of schools districts: youth poster in English and in Spanish.
National Health Care for the Homeless Council Membership organization of health care providers working with people who are homeless across the U.S. Committed to reforming the nation's health care system to serve better the needs of such people. Contains an introduction to the issues of health care and homelessness as well as reports, policy papers, clinical information, newsletters, links to health and homelessness sites, and a member forum.
National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness Co-sponsors the annual National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week with the National Coalition for the Homeless. Committed to ending hunger and homelessness in America by educating, engaging, and training students to directly meet individuals’ immediate needs while advocating for long-term systemic solutions. Students from 29 Pennsylvania colleges and universities volunteer through NSCAHH. Follow the home page link to Students in Action and Participating schools.
Pennsylvania Department of Education Student Services and Programs Statistics about children homeless in Pennsylvania, frequently asked questions about the educational rights of these children, and more. There are 7 links along the lower left margin of this page that link to related information about the "Homeless Children's Initiative. The site is not easily navigated.
Peoples Emergency Center [PEC] in Philadelphia provides comprehensive supportive services to women and their children experiencing homelessness, works to revitalize its West Philadelphia neighborhood, and advocates for social justice. See their publications page featuring links to recent publications as well as to summaries of research on homelessness going back through September 2007 and including a summary of HCEF's recent survey of mothers homeless in Allegheny County
Stand Up For Kids National, not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 to help rescue youth who are homeless and living on the streets.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Pennsylvania (HUD) offers numerous useful links to homeless services and resources in the state. The site is available in Spanish as well as English. Also see HUD's newest report, released July 2009: The 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress
(7/21/10)
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