Content Type: Publications

Department of Education Data Show 1.36 Million Homeless Students in U.S.

Across the country, school is back in session. Though every new school year brings unique challenges for students, few are as difficult to overcome as those facing homeless students.

Each year, school personnel work to identify every homeless student in their districts while school is in session. This includes students who are living in shelters, motels or hotels, doubled up with family or friends, or on the street. (This measure is different than the one that the Department of Housing and Urban Development uses.)

Here’s How You Can Urge Congress to End Homelessness

Now that Congress has returned from August recess, the Alliance and our partners are gearing up for a big advocacy push with National Call-In Days. This week, we’re pushing for advocates to urge their members of Congress to prioritize funding for programs that will end homelessness.

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, participating advocates from across the country will call their members of Congress to deliver a unified message: raise federal sequester spending caps and fully fund affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs in FY 2016. The Alliance is coordinating these call-in days with Caps Hurt Communities, an advocacy campaign committed to ending the federal sequester spending caps.

RRH and Childhood Services Providers Should be Working Together

A surprisingly high number of young mothers with very young children – infants and toddlers – experience homelessness each year. In some communities, nearly half of homeless families include a mother under the age of 25.

In addition to having very little financial resources to pay for housing, these young moms also often lack support to meet their children’s needs. That’s why rapid re-housing providers who serve homeless families may want to explore working more closely with organizations that are designed to provide early childhood development services.

When the Math Doesn’t Add Up: Ending Homelessness Requires Prevention

Summer is officially over, and school is back in session. So here’s some basic math to jog the brain: to end homelessness, the number of people exiting homelessness must be greater than the number of people entering homelessness.

In Los Angeles County, over 10,000 chronically homeless individuals exited homelessness to housing in the past three years—a remarkable feat. And yet, the number of homeless persons continues to grow. So what’s happening in the equation?

When Homeless Youth Attend College, Where Do They Stay?

September is back-to-school month, so it’s a perfect time to talk about the difficulties facing one group of people who we might not always think about as experiencing homelessness: college students.

Everyone knows how important getting some kind of post-secondary education can be to lifting people out of poverty, but people with low-incomes, including homeless youth, face particular barriers to completing college. And failing to complete college can burden low-income students further by increasing their debt without increasing their income.