Over 1 million US students are homeless...ONE MILLION....

[debbierlus]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/education/06homeless.html?_r=2

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In the small trailer her family rented over the summer, 9-year-old Charity Crowell picked out the green and purple outfit she would wear on the first day of school. She vowed to try harder and bring her grades back up from the C’s she got last spring — a dismal semester when her parents lost their jobs and car and the family was evicted and migrated through friends’ houses and a motel.


Charity Crowell said that in the turmoil of homelessness last spring, she had trouble sleeping, nodded off in class and saw her grades slip.


Katrina Crowell and her children, Charity Crowell and Elijah Carrington, who were homeless for part of the last school year. Charity is one child in a national surge of homeless schoolchildren that is driven by relentless unemployment and foreclosures. The rise, to more than one million students without stable housing by last spring, has tested budget-battered school districts as they try to carry out their responsibilities — and the federal mandate — to salvage education for children whose lives are filled with insecurity and turmoil.

The instability can be ruinous to schooling, educators say, adding multiple moves and lost class time to the inherent distress of homelessness. And so in accord with federal law, the Buncombe County district, where Charity attends, provides special bus service to shelters, motels, doubled-up houses, trailer parks and RV campgrounds to help children stay in their familiar schools as the families move about.

Still, Charity said of her last semester, “I couldn’t go to sleep, I was worried about all the stuff,” and she often nodded off in class.

Charity and her brother, Elijah Carrington, 6, were among 239 children from homeless families in her district as of last June, an increase of 80 percent over the year before, with indications this semester that as many or more will be enrolled in the months ahead.

More at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/education/06homeless.html?_r=2

[G_j]

1. no bail out for Charity

this is a very important article. It should be a top story.
The media are carrying on about Obama talking to school kids, why not the million school kids that are homeless?

[debbierlus]

2. It really should be - I was aghast at the number....

I figured it was high...but over a MILLION...

This country is coming apart at the seams.

[G_j]

4. this can seriously jeopardize a child's future.

the instability and fear can be toxic.

[debbierlus]

6. And, the frightening thing is that it will only get worse in the near term...

The economy is still hemmorhaging jobs...waitlist for the small amount of subsidized housing units are years long...

We need, at the very least, more transistional emergency shelters that will provide as much of a homelike atmosphere as possible during such a family crisis, plus programs that will help unite struggling families to help pool resources and help each other to the other side.

[Donnachaidh]

22. and how many are in risk of becoming homeless?

Half a million jobs being lost weekly -- but of course, we're coming out of the recession, right? :sarcasm:

[ipaint]

3. Perhaps Obama should bring it up. n/t

[debbierlus]

20. He should definitely bring it up -

Often.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Big deal. Better give more tax money to bankers.

If you're not a banker, you can go fuck yourself. Go live in the woods with the rest of the animals.

[pa28]

11. Sad.

We have an army of homeless children out there the size of San Francisco. Someone tell Nancy Grace.

[Hannah Bell]

13. she'll fix it. she'll burst everyone's eardrums with her whiny voice

until they agree to open up low-income housing.

[debbierlus]

17. Whiny voice....pointing out we have a million homeless students is whining

We need many more 'whiny' voices who speak out and demand real change instead of people who believe activism is wearing t-shirts, voting every couple of years, and blindly support politicians who betray campaign promises.

[Hannah Bell]

26. nancy grace won't be whining for the homeless any time soon. it doesn't pay enough.

[tekisui]

7. Disgraceful.

[ChoralScholar]

8. I've got one in my class.

The band director and I are making sure he gets taken care of - i.e. enough to eat, clothes, etc.

I know not all students are so fortunate.

[t0dd]

9. I'm ashamed to call myself an American after reading this. Where is the federal bailout

for the million homeless students? I had no idea that number was so high...

[girl gone mad]

10. Sorry..

bailouts are only to keep the rich criminals on Wall St. from going broke (you know, the ones that caused most of this homelessness in the first place).

[Rocky Sullivan]

12. Sorry, most homelessness is caused by mental illness & addiction

not on the part of these poor children, but probably their parents.

<p>wall street may be guilty of not giving a shit, but it's a stretch to say they put them there.

[G_j]

14. if you cared enough to do a little reseaerch...

http://www.homelessresourcenetwork.org/causes.htm

Contributing Factors for Homelessness

Automobile related - Broken down car, no insurance, tickets, etc.

Decline in Public Assistance - Current TANF benefits and food stamps combined are below the poverty level in every state; in fact, the median TANF benefit for a family of three is approximately one-third of the poverty level. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, welfare does not provide relief from poverty.

Divorce - Divorce often leaves one of the spouses homeless. Most often it’s the father, but sometimes it’s the mother and children or everyone involved.

Domestic Violence - Battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness.

Drug and Alcohol related problems - Rates of alcohol and drug abuse are disproportionately high among the homeless population.

Illness - For families and individuals struggling to pay the rent, a serious illness or disability can start a downward spiral into homelessness, beginning with a lost job, depletion of savings to pay for care, and eventual eviction.

Job loss - No income to pay rent.

Lack of affordable housing- The lack of affordable housing has lead to high rent burdens (rents which absorb a high proportion of income), overcrowding, and substandard housing.

Lack of child support - In families where child support is ordered but not paid, the decrease in income can lead to an inability to pay rent, utilities, or both.

Low wages - Declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one- or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.

Mental Illness - Approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffer from some form of severe and persistent mental illness.

Natural Disaster / Fire - Situations where due to chance a fire, tornado, flood or hurricane renders housing inhabitable.

Physical Disabilities - Disabled individuals may be unable to work or find appropriate employment. For those receiving SSI, they often
struggle to obtain and maintain stable housing.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - This disorder is common with veterans and those that have been in violent situations. It can make it difficult to have a stable life.

Poverty - Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.

Roommates - When one or more roommates falls through with their end of the bargain, they can be a reason for others becoming homeless.

Severe Depression - Can make it impossible for an individual to maintain a stable life.

Tragedy - It is surprising how many people just quit functioning because their families died or were killed...sometimes recently...other times 15 years ago...other times 30 years ago.

[debbierlus]

15. There are currently over 14 million people without jobs -

I would say not having an income put them there.

These are consequences of greed and profit as god. It isn't a stretch at all. It is the logical conclusion.

And, addiction often results from the desperation of someone trying to escape a desperate life and it will increase in these desperate times - I would say a lot of drinking and other substance abuse will result from the crash of individual lives sucked
dry by financial loss and hopelessness of no place to turn. And, that is something else to hang around the corporate necks.

And, shelters and programs for the homeless have been slashed while trillions have gone to banks - so money that should be spent
keeping desperate people off the streets has been stolen by the wealth.

Yes, I would say you can put a hell of a lot of the blame on the corrupt corporate wealth for this tragedy. And, there is more
to come. You better hope that one day it isn't you because right now, we are ALL at the mercy of this monster.

[Hannah Bell]

27. not with 10% unemployment & 2/3 of the employed making

it's no stretch at all to say wall street put them there & keeps them there.

capital's profit requires unemployment & low wages.

[debbierlus]

16. The media has been too busy paying attention to the right wing circus

...to actually report the news...

[Jkid]

19. Especially the local news

They only cover crime, fires, celebs, and accidents.

[debbierlus]

18. I would ask those who read this and rate this as very important to please K&R

I believe this is one of the sobering stories that can change perspective on how severe the economic situation really is....

[Jkid]

21. Inexcusable

I don't care how many conservative ,American individualist, "fuck the poor", social darwinists tell me otherwise. It's just inexcusable.

[pleah]

23. K&R

[ensho]

24. america so loves its children

caring about children last instead of first has been the american way for decades.

cripe, we used to let children work.

and believed children should be seen but not heard in the presence of adults.

that children didn't need to finish highschool.

and now TODAY child sexual abuse is an epidemic!

america so loves its children.

[Rebubula]

32. My America DOES love its children

I see my friends and family doing volunteer work every week. My brother has been working with poor families in North Georgia for most of the last 40 years. Every day, I see neighbors and strangers helping out each other.

Too many people focus on the bad parts of this country....I still say that America is still doing well despite our government of the last 8 years. Yes...people are suffering, but this is not indigenous to America.

Your Points...
Letting Children work - Still happens in about 1/3 of the world
Not have to finish highschool...ummm, what? I see lots of programs designed to keep kids in school
Sexual abuse?? Please show me how this can be considered an epidemic in this country. I would say epidemic in parts of Africa and Asia (of course, much of the sex abuse in Asia is Western men traveling there to join in ), but not here.

Now...being from the South...I do believe children should be seen and not heard. That is more of a ribbing than a rule anyway. Kind of like saying. 'Shhh...the adults are talking'


Instead of bitching about what you see as wrongs...how about proposing solutions?

[ensho]

33. child sexual abuse IS in epidemic perportions in the US

nt

[ooglymoogly]

25. Just one of the many horrors brought to you by the GOP

All of us must band together in communities to help those in dire straits. One million! My god this is a catastrophe.

[LWolf]

28. I would love it if the nation could

set aside fighting over speeches and focus on making sure every child has a home, clothing, and food before engaging in the war on how kids spend their first day in the classroom at school.

[G_j]

29. K&R!

[G_j]

30. ==

[HillWilliam]

31. Too late for me to rec, but I can kick again n/t

[G_j]

34. ==