Helping Homeless Children

A recent article on “tent-cities” for the homeless sprouting up across the nation made me think about how we can help homeless children in America. According to a new report issued by the National Center on Family Homelessness, one out of every 50 American children experiences homelessness in their lifetime and according to data analyzed from 2005 and 2006, 1.5 million children experience being homeless in America each year. We can only assume with the current recession that this statistic is significantly higher and growing in 2009.

The report also looked at how individual states deal with this problem, ranking performance in four areas: child homelessness per capita, child well-being, risk for child homelessness, and state policy and planning. The top five states were Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island and North Dakota. At the bottom were Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana.

According to the report, most states have inadequate plans to address this worsening and often-overlooked problem. One can only imagine the suffering that a child experiences after having to leave his home, and then live in a homeless shelter or even on the street. The report said homeless children are far more likely than other children to experience hunger, suffer chronic health problems, repeat a grade in school and drop out of high school. As President Obama said in his press conference earlier in the week, the wealthiest nation on earth cannot tolerate having children living without homes.

The report offered 19 recommendations for government action, including beefed-up federal spending on low-income housing, assistance to struggling renters and homeowners, and investment in childcare for homeless children. It urged states to place homeless families directly into permanent housing rather than into motels. It recommended that we set the goal of ending homelessness for all U.S. children within a decade.

In the meantime, those of us who are educators and counselors need to think about how we can help homeless children today. The only way I know is by helping children develop their resiliency (emotional intelligence) skills, which is why I wrote the book When Can We Go Home? The free e-book contains 13 activities that help children deal with the loss of their home, feeling safe no matter where they are, meeting new people, self-calming tips, problem-solving ideas, and remaining positive about themselves and their families. Please click the book cover on the right to download it to your computer. You are welcome to print out as many copies as you like.

What Can Kids Do For Homeless Kids?
Over the years I have recommended many websites that encourage helping and caring in children. One of my favorites, kidscare.org, promotes Kids Care Clubs. Kids Care Clubs are groups of young people who work together to help others in their communities and around the world. Below are some ideas on how kids can help homeless kids.
· Collect canned food for shelters.
· Clean a closet and give old clothes, toys, and games in good-condition to shelters.
· Raise money or give part of your allowance to a shelter.
· Teens can volunteer directly at a shelter. They can babysit, read stories, provide homework help or just play with the kids. Being homeless is one of the worst things that can happen to a child. If you can think of ways to help these children, I hope that you will.