Study: More Homeless Children Now Than Any Point in US History

[JEB]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/17/study-more-homeless-children-now-any-point-us-history
by
Jon Queally, staff writer
The annual levels of homelessness among children have never been higher in the United States, according to a new comprehensive report released on Monday.

Prepared by the National Center on Family Homelessness, the report—America’s Youngest Outcasts (pdf)—shows that with poverty and inequality soaring in recent years, approximately 2.5 million children in 2013 found themselves without a roof over their head or place to call home. That number equals one in 30 American children nationally, and constitutes an 8 percent increase over the previous year.

"Child homelessness has reached epidemic proportions in America," said Dr. Carmela DeCandia, director of the NCFH, in a statement. "Children are homeless to night in every city, county and state — in every part of our nation.”

<snip>
Dr. DeCandia notes that federal policies seeking to address the problem of homelessness among veterans and other chronically vulnerable adults have showed that improvements can be made, but says specific federal action to fight child homelessness has not been adequate to address the growing national crisis of homeless youth.

“Living in shelters, neighbors’ basements, cars, campgrounds, and worse — homeless children are the most invisible and neglected individuals in our society,” she said. “Without decisive action now, the federal goal of ending child homelessness by 2020 will soon be out of reach.”

If the situation does not change soon, she said, the society is "going to pay a high price, in human and economic terms."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

[wavesofeuphoria]

1. "one in 30 American children nationally, and constitutes an 8 percent increase

over the previous year"

There is that economic recovery I've heard so much about!!!!

This is beyond sad.

[840high]

20. How can our

politicians sleep at night?

[lpbk2713]

22. The PACs and the lobbyists put them to sleep with a smile on their face.

Some have no trouble at all.

[Initech]

2. Meanwhile the Koch Brothers fortune is reaching Dr. Evil numbers....

[Autumn]

5. Meanwhile the wars continue. It's not the Koch Brothers, as bad as they are, it's our politicians.

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
― Dwight D. Eisenhower

They are the ones who make the decision for permanent war, the very ones we elected.

[840high]

9. ...^ that

[Autumn]

10. The blame rest squarely on their shoulders, I will no longer give the President

or any other Democrat a pass on this. They are the ones responsible for our children being cold and hungry.

[reddread]

11. on everyone's, realistically we can expect nothing from our elected "representatives"

now we have to stand together and demand what they deny us.
that is really all it takes, and no less.

[Autumn]

12. I'm not sure they will listen. They found it very easy to ignore the protests by the people

when bush started this. Obama has continued it and that has been all good and fine, after all, he's a Democrat. Until the next republican president escalates it again . Then the game begins anew.

[reddread]

13. act locally, different thing altogether

they showed their indifference to public opinion at those unreachable levels of stolen power.
when dealing with local politicians you can see the fear in their eyes and their willingness to
capitulate to a crowd of constituents for their own sake.
that is where things can be changed, if people will work together with reasonable expectations
and clear goals.
no small wish.

[Initech]

16. Yup most of our woes can be traced back to the war machine.

[840high]

18. Not just the Koch Bros.

[TheNutcracker]

3. $8million dollars to Iraq every day....just Iraq...for their kids....and others.

[Autumn]

4. We can afford permanent war with several countries or taking care of our children and their families

Our elected leaders have made their choice. They are all disgraceful, every one of them who support this policy of war,

[MADem]

6. I don't think, back in the Great Depression, that someone living in

grandma or auntie's house, or even in the neighbor's basement, or even the old shack out back of the neighbor's house, was considered "homeless." Today, they are. What was once regarded as a less than optimal living situation is today regarded as being without.

I am not saying that the problem of child homelessness is not signficant, and I am not saying it should not be addressed vigorously -- what I am saying, though, is that the number of children who are counted as "homeless" will affect federal subsidies to states and school districts for things like community health, school feeding and adjunct enrichment programs.

I think a lot of those programs should be categorized based on need, anyway, with no requirement to contort the terminology--regardless if someone is paying rent or just crashing with granny for the duration.

[Yupster]

27. I would guess that the late 1860's

had a far greater level of child homelessness than today.

Many women died in childbirth. Then when the Civil War took 600,000 lives, orphans were all over the big cities of the north and probably everywhere else.

Churches put orphans onto trains and sent them out to farmers who would accept them. They were a godsend to farmers who couldn't have kids. Some became governors, and most inherited the farm when their adopted parents died.

[MADem]

29. I think you're right...and "childhood" was much shorter then

that it is today. 14? You're a MAN, baby! Out to work!

[KingCharlemagne]

7. "USA! USA! USA!" :sarcasm: - nt

[progressoid]

8. That can't be right. We're in a recovery!

[JEB]

26. Yeah, aren't their stock portfolios going up?

[daleanime]

14. ........

[geretogo]

15. What do you expect after 34 years of Ragenomic policies ?

[yeoman6987]

28. And that was how many politicians ago?

Seriously everything Reagan did easily could have been revoked. I find it hard to believe we have had so much Democratic leadership since Reagan and his policies have all survived. Maybe he is a Saint or something. So crazy!!!

[tclambert]

17. Buncha little moochers. Probably looking for handouts from the gub'mint.

What we need to do is repeal those oppressive child labor laws so those kids can go get jobs!

[bigwillq]

19. K and R (nt)

[nilesobek]

21. I've seen the homeless children, they are real.

You can see the effects of being exposed to the elements in their tired, sunburned faces. Frequently, someone becomes "concerned," and calls CPS which has varying results in foster care. Either it helps them or it turns into total horror for the child.

[woo me with science]

23. K&R

[woo me with science]

24. Corporate policies are sociopathic.

[woo me with science]

25. kick