Impact of Homelessness on Children
On any given night, 1.2 million children are homeless.
Breaking the intergenerational cycles of homelessness and domestic violence is critical to ending domestic violence and homelessness in our community.
When we think about people who are experiencing homelessness, we usually think about adults. The fact is, millions of children experience homelessness every year. These children sleep in cars, shelters and abandoned buildings. They relocate constantly, which results in their being pulled out of school and away from friends.
Family Homelessness
Families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for about 41% of the nations homeless in 2009 according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Within these families, more than 1.3 million children are homeless at some time each year. On any given day, at least 800,000 Americans, including about 200,000 children, find themselves without a home.
Many of these families and children have experienced trauma prior to becoming homeless, and homelessness can exacerbate the consequences of trauma or re-traumatize a child, resulting in a cycle that is tragically damaging and costly to both individuals and communities.
- The typical homeless family is headed by a single mother, usually in her late twenties. She has with her two or three young children, typically preschoolers.
- Homelessness affects people of all geographic areas, ages, occupations, and ethnicities but occurs disproportionately among people of color.
- More than 90 percent of sheltered and low-income mothers have experienced physical and sexual assault over their lifespan.
Impact on Children’s Health
Homeless children are sick four times as often as middle class children and have high rates of acute and chronic illnesses. In addition they suffer from emotional or behavioral problems that interfere with learning at almost three times the rate of other children. Homeless children between 6 and 17 years struggle with high rates of mental health problems. For example, 47% have problems such as anxiety, depression, or withdrawal, compared to 18% of other school-age children.
Effects on Children’s Physical Health
Homeless children get sick twice as often as other children. They have:
- Twice as many ear infections
- Four times as many asthma attacks
- Five times more stomach problems
- Six times as many speech problems
- Twice as many hospitalizations
Homeless children go hungry twice as often as other children and 25% of homeless children report eating less after becoming homeless.
Effects on Children’s Mental Health
Homeless children who are able to attend school have more problems learning in school. Compared with other children, homeless children are:
- Four times as likely to have developmental delays.
- Twice as likely to have learning disabilities.
- Twice as likely to repeat a grade, most often due to frequent absences and moves to new schools (28% of homeless children go to three or more schools in a single year).
Impact on School
Approximately 87% of school-age homeless children and youth are enrolled in school, although only about 77% attend school regularly. Some schools don’t allow homeless children to register without school and medical records. Others will not enroll children without a home address and there is often no transportation available to get children from shelters to school. The vast majority of homeless children and youth live in shelters, doubled up with friends or relatives, or in situations such as motels and campgrounds.
