Living in the Shadows

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for joining me today to discuss student homelessness.

Children experiencing homelessness are among the most

invisible and neglected individuals in our nation.

Shankar Brown 2017.

We teach them and walk past them in the hallways

without a conscious thought

of where and if they slept last night.

Whether or not their clothes are clean

when they had their last shower or meal

is school. The only place they have a decent meal

is school. The only place they feel safe,

loved

a sense of belonging.

Many Children who experience homelessness,

maybe too ashamed or too proud to show signs

or to talk to an adult.

We all need to become diligent advocates

for all Children

and strive to be a voice

for the voiceless

Student homelessness is an invisible,

persistent problem in K through 12 schools in the United States today,

understanding the impact on our students and how

we can help them navigate this difficult journey

is paramount to ensuring their success in school.

Our goal is to be

a positive force

in the lives of our homeless population

Today. We will be examining the root causes, the impact on the students

and their education

and implement a positive action plan.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Study

from 2020

Children under the age of 18

make up 18.3%

of total homeless population nationwide.

That is 106,360 for Children

without a stable roof over their heads

10,651 of those

counted

were an unsheltered

locations,

the most vulnerable

of our student populations to experience homelessness. Our students

are already grappling with extreme poverty

and who find themselves in a situation where they feel forced

to choose between housing and other more affordable necessities for survival.

Other high risk factors, according to research from effects of poverty,

hunger and homelessness on Children and youth, published in 2022

include but are not limited to

female heads of household.

Teen parents,

lack of affordable housing,

substance abuse

or physically violent parents

and runaway teens,

especially those who identify as LGBT Q plus,

our homeless youth need us,

they need us to stand up for them and to be the voice

that counts on their behalf.

We as educators have been hearing

since 2020

how resilient Children are,

how even though there were many negative setbacks during COVID-19

that they will bounce back.

What about our marginalized populations?

What about our homeless students?

What does school life look like for them?

Are homeless students are not going to wear a sign

around their necks or make an announcement over the loudspeaker

that their family currently has no place to call home.

Instead,

we will have to be observant of the behavior changes

that we could easily mistake for signs of other turmoil.

Diligence is absolutely key.

Your students may seem more withdrawn

or depressed.

They are likely having feelings of embarrassment due to their current situation.

It is also just as likely

that a student experiencing homelessness

may put on an unusually happy face

in order to avoid becoming more of a burden on anyone

or a target from their peers.

Be aware of any signs that your students are being bullied or teased

before we are able to dig in and help our homeless population.

We must first begin with a proactive action plan.

The very first step of any plan of action is to is identification of the problem

and the students involved

our issues here to handle

is not the fact that these students are homeless

as that is beyond our control.

Our problem is how to help the students

who are experiencing homelessness homelessness better navigate their

feelings and school while living through this difficult

situation with or possibly without their families.

The plan of action from this point involves several possible steps,

some of which may be unique to your community or campus.

Some of these steps

after identification

can include but are not limited to

small group or one on one counseling sessions to

help combat the social emotional implications of homelessness,

Finding alternative times to pull students from remedial tutoring

other than PE and extracurriculars,

implementing lunch groups

or maybe before and after school tutoring with food availability,

homeless Children have reported that being pulled

from the only classes that they truly enjoyed

for remedial work,

caused added stress

and disdain for school.

Another aspect of combating the pain of being a homeless student

is addressing the negative stigma associated with homelessness

not only with their peers, but with the entire staff as well,

creating a stigma free environment or as close to as a school can get

is ideal in a holistic approach to the issue of student homelessness,

as students feel less stress at school for

the situation they are experiencing outside of school,

their perspective on attendance and success will naturally change for the better,

showing our students a realistic path to their goals

and the means to achieve them

is what

our role as educators and school counselors is all about

to continually strive to bring this to each of our students

is what brought us to this profession

in the first place,

there is much we can do as educators and counselors

to mitigate the effects of student homelessness on the individuals affected

it is our duty to be knowledgeable and unbiased

in our approach to help the individual students feel safe

and loved in our schools in order for them to succeed.

Thank you for attending my presentation today.

I hope that you gained some useful knowledge and have

a plan to carry that knowledge forward with you,

be the light

and please feel free to email me with any comments or questions.

Thank you for your time

Living in the Shadows

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