One of the prevalent problems that distract the student’s ability to learn and develop skills that are required to graduate high school is family homelessness. According to the state center for homeless families, 1 out of 45 children in the US are homeless that averagely 1.6 children are homeless every year. There are a variety of factors that cause family homelessness they include domestic violence, lack of affordable housing, decreasing government supports, lack of social support, or the challenges of raising children alone (Stetser, & Stillwell, 2014). According to the national center on family homelessness, many students who are homeless lack the school supplies that are core and they also lack an environment that is comfortable to do their homework. Also, in the lives of homeless students, violence can often play a significant role because according to the study, almost 25% of children have witnessed violence in their homes. There is a very high likelihood of children who have seen the violence exhibit antisocial behavior, anxiety and high levels of depression when compared to those who have …show more content…
Students who are homeless are twice as likely as non-homeless students to have to be expelled, drop out of high school, or repeat a grade. Many high school dropouts not only have household as a disadvantage, but they also drop out of school at a rate of 36% due to physical or learning disabilities (Aratani, & Cooper, 2015). Some of the behaviors that are more common among the school dropouts include relocating during the high school years, generate a sensation of feeling alienated one feels like a student who does not fit the mold of the classroom, or one who waits behind because of some reason. It makes the student loose motivation and, therefore, give up finally and then decide to drop out of
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
When we think of homelessness, we often think of people middle aged and older. For many years now, the problem has become more real to the younger generation. Some are there by choice but still, many are there because of circumstances beyond their control. In the report written by Eleanor J. Bader, she uncovers some of the faces of homeless people that just happen to be college students. According to Mary Jean LeTendre, who was interviewed in the report, “no college has ever asked for help in reaching homeless students” (638).
Homelessness can result from children running away, being abandoned by parents, extreme poverty within the family and/or unsafe/unstable living conditions. Being in situations where a child has worry about where they are going to sleep or where there next meal may come from gives them little time, if any, to focus or even think about attending school. In addition, attending school means a need for the upkeep of personal hygiene, having clean clothes and most importantly transportation to and from school, which can add more stress to a child outside of the fact they are homeless. Not having these things causes high levels of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Th...
Gwinnett County Public School (2010, June). Education for Homeless Children and Youth. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-mainweb01.nsf/F42D74FA4ECBBFED85257754006DDA21/$file/HEP_Parent_Brochure_10-11.pdf
It is estimated that, “each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children” (NLCHP). Clearly poverty and Homelessness come hand in hand, and the economy downfall has only contributed to this growing crisis. “Homelessness stems from a lack of affordable housing. Increasing rents, destruction of traditional low-income housing, and cuts in federal housing programs threaten affordable housing with extinction” (NLCHP). Most people in poverty have a housing affordability crisis, which means that they pay more than half of their income for rent, so therefore they have to buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses. This indicates a constantly struggle financially therefore anything such as an accident, sick child, or loss of employment could tip you over the edge. Some including factors that contrib...
Abuse and neglect are one of the top three leading causes of youth homelessness. “Studies show 70 percent of homeless youth have suffered some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse”
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
This paper will examine a subgroup of the homeless population, homeless families. It will explore the multiple causes of family homelessness and the consequences homelessness has on family life. The three main reasons for the abundance of dispossessed families within America are the following: 1) the lack of affordable housing, 2) low wages in the job-market, and 3) insufficient federal aid. In today’s society, these causes are the main contributors towards the heartbreaking condition of family homelessness, which often leads to family breakups, health issues, and educational obstacles. This paper will also give possible solutions to family homelessness and improvement plans for the future.
The main issue revolving homelessness is that people are not putting themselves into their perspective. Students who live in shelters and constantly worry about the possibility of eating that day go through a whole different kind of struggle compared to others. This kind of obstacle is not common to relate to. “She slept in libraries, bathrooms and her car. She sold plasma and skipped meals,” (2). Majority of students who enter college have the luxury of receiving secure shelter and food, in which they should. Ms. Evans is an example of
The youth homelessness population is increasing because of the many challenges that these children or teens face in everyday life; It also continues getting larger every year because of the many youth who are getting into dangerous situations that force them to be homeless or thru their own choosing. One third of the homeless population is between the ages of 16-24, which is incredibly young and it is the prime years for an adolescent or young adu...
How do teens end up homeless? Being homeless is never a choice but a downfall in one’s life due all sort of hardship that occurs in someone’s living environment. For many teens homeless occurs due to bad living situations at home such as abusive relationship within the family or family is in debt due to poverty putting stress on the teen .About 40% of girls and 19% of boys left home because of sexual abuse. Teenagers are still learning how to cope with life so they tend to feel high emotion they don’t know how to handle causing them to feel unconformable which may lead to addiction. Addictions to alcohol and drugs are a vast aspect towards homelessness. Addiction is most likely to lead to youth losing interest in anything in life and their normal daily routines causing bad school attendance and grades giving the bad outcome of getting kicked out of school ...
The many causes of the homelessness issue has arisen from global conflict, unemployment increase, education tuition costs rising, and the increase of poverty. Homelessness is affecting all ages, ethnicities, and religions striking in both urban and rural communities. “Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars.”
Homelessness affects a vast number of people. In the United States over 100 million people are homeless (Stearman 9). In fact, between 600,000 and 760,000 people are homeless every night (Hurley 31),and 1.3 million people are homeless at some point each year (“Impact of Homelessness on Children” 1). Unfortunately, homeless people are forced to live on the streets, in abandoned premises or find overnight community shelters. Still a vast majority of the homeless community don’t have a roof over their head.
Homeless has changed in the past years, in the first beginning of homelessness, it meant people who were very poor but stayed in cheap hotels. Today being homeless means being houseless. Several changes in the 70's through the 80's may have been reason for homelessness due to the cheap hotel prices going up and of course one simple cannot afford housing if he or she is homeless ("Homelessness.”). Today America has many young adults on the streets because of issues at home. There are several issues that would cause a student to become homeless. Running away from family or an intolerable house situation because of physical, emotional, sexual a...
Teens today face a lot of pressure. Many students deal with difficult life situations that hinder them from focusing on their futures. This can lead to a loss of interest in school and school events, such as a sports, clubs, or after school programs. Teens start to prioritize other things over their education. Every year, over 1.2 million students will leave school without earning a high school diploma in the United States alone (“11”). That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day (“11”). The United States, which used to have the highest graduation rates of any country, now ranks 22nd out of 27 developed countries (“11”). Students may not realize that by dropping out of high school they are more likely to commit crimes, become parents at a young age, use and abuse alcohol and drugs, and live in poverty (“Drop”). Dropouts make up the majority of those