Extended Inquiry Project

The Unacknowledged Children Of America

Yanni Johnson
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
March 9, 2015

Fall

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If youre up around 2am every night you will see various commercials that
ask you to donate Just $0.50 a day in order to help a starving child in a third world
country. However, ask your self these questions: How many commercials have you
seen that are offering help to children in America? Is child homelessness even

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acknowledged on a large public network? Why are we trying to help other countries
fight homelessness when we are having a crisis in our own back yard? This paper
will explore the effects of homelessness on children, and what America is doing
about it.
Many believe that homelessness only seems to affect men in their late years
that failed to pay their bills. However homelessness does not discriminate by age or
race. There are many that believe that child homelessness does not exist in America.
Conversely, according to the Huffington Post, a nationally recognized online
American news outlet, the number of homeless children in America reached an all-
time high in 2013 of 2.5 million. To many reading this paper hearing of the number
of children who are in dire need of help will react in two ways. The first may be
disbelief. No one ever wants to believe that America, the country seeming superior
to all other countries could have such a huge number of people children with out
homes. The second reaction to this statement would be action. Many, along with
myself, will want to take action, and figure out what America is doing to help those
who are too young and vulnerable to help themselves. Throughout this paper, there
will be many statements that will bring readers to the edge and question what is
really known about homeless, however you will decide what to do which is either to

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be in disbelief and act like we do not have a growing crisis in America or, begin to
take action.
To begin we must first find a common definition on what child homelessness
exactly is. According to the California Department of Education Child (CDEC)
homelessness is defined as: individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence. So during the year of 2013, 2.5 million children, who
according to The National Center on Family Homelessness is equal to one in every
30 children, were going to sleep every night without an adequate place to rest their

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heads. Now there is no single cause that may leave a child homeless, there are a
number of factors that can contribute, including: a parent losing a job, a child is a
runaway, or a child could be thrown out of their home. Of course the three listed

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above are not the only causes that can leave a child homeless, however reading
through various articles, and interviews the three listed seem to be the most
common.
There are a number of physical effects that come when a child is
experiencing homelessness. The National Center on Family Homelessness reported
that children who are homeless are sicker more often than those who have a stable
home. It was also reported that children who experience homeless also could
literally change the structure of their brain. To me, out of all the facts that are and
will be given in this paper, this seems to be the most intriguing because a state of
being can alter a persons let a lone a Childs brain permanently. A study conducted
by the Illinois Children Mental Health Partnership discovered that school-aged

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children who are homeless are more likely to have respiratory infections, ear
infections, and gastrointestinal infections.
Having an unstable place to sleep every night will be physically draining to
the body however; there are many emotional effects that come along with a child
who is identified as being homeless. A 2013 article published by the Illinois Children

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Mental Health Partnership entitled Early Childhood Mental Health and

Homelessness explored the many mental, physical, and social effects that happen to
a child while being homeless. According to the ICMHP in 2010, 42% of children who
were homeless were under the age of 6. With this being said, the ICMHP discovered
that Infants and toddlers who experience homelessness are four times more likely
to suffer from significant developmental delays that are visible by 18 months of
age. This shows that homelessness can have a significant impact on childrens
cognitive abilities. This also shows that when it comes to academics children that
are homeless are more likely to be behind than those who are in a low-income
families.
Along with mental effects there are a number of social effects that happen to
a child when they are homeless. In an article entitled Shadow Kids by Meghan
Stromberg, the author and interviewed children that were faced with the crisis of
homelessness. Interviewing the teens she discovered that many are not very trustful

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because many are often beaten up, asked for sexual favors for a place to sleep, or
sexually assaulted. Another reason children who are homeless are often less trustful of
adults is because of the reason they are homeless. Many teens that are homeless today are
thrown out of their homes because they usually have a: sexual orientation that their

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families do not agree with, sexual abuse between family members, their parents are
unable to afford housing, or conflict between family members.
Homelessness in our youth is harder to identify them in any other group because
children often do want people to know. Its hard enough to be in adolescence as we crave
independence and we do not want others to look down upon us or feel bad for us. And
this is exactly the case. Many children often try to hide the fact that they are homeless not
only from teachers or those in higher authority but as well as from their closest friends.
This is especially the case for children who are apart of a homeless family rather than on

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the streets by themselves.

We must pay attention to the signs of children who may be in danger of becoming
homeless or are already homeless. According to the National Center for Homeless
Education the signs a child might be homeless are as follows: having attendance at

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various schools, lack of immunization records, erratic school attendance or absences,

poor personal hygiene and health, social and behavioral concerns, statements that parents
may make. Such as parent being uninterested or unsurprised by their children acting out
in school and their child being late, or not coming to school at all without doctors notes or
a valid excuse. However not all children will display all of these characteristics, some
may exhibit one or two, some may exhibit none at all. Nonetheless it is our duty as a
nation to be able to try and figure out those who may be in need of our assistance.
Although there are various programs that are set up by the government, none of
seems to publicize the ever-growing trend of homelessness that is occurring in our youth.
For the year of 2015 the Obama Administration came up with a budget proposal that
would set aside $114 million dollars for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)

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and $65 million dollars for Education for Homeless children and Youth (EHY), as well as
an additional $2 million dollars to study the growing prevalence of runaways and
unaccompanied youth (EndHomelessness.org). However, as we all know congress was
unable to finalize the fiscal year funding, so in turn the money has yet to be able to be set
aside to for the RHYA or the EHY (Endhomelessness.org). However there are other
programs that do try to focus on helping the youth with education such as the National
Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, and various other state ran organizations and
departments. However, these departments are not seemingly helping the growing
problem. In 2010, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)

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published a report entitled Opening Doors: Federal Strategic

Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. This was the first comprehensive strategy to end
homelessness. Opening Doors is a joint action that combines the 19 USICH member
agencies along with local and state partners in public and private sectors. Opening doors

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was specifically developed in order to address which strategies and supports work and do
not work when it comes to improving the educational outcomes for children and youth, as
well as developing steps in order to improve the assistance with unaccompanied youth
experiencing homelessness (Opening Doors).
I believe that as Americans we often put so much effort into helping other
countries, we often forget about our own. Were always lending a helping hand to those
in other countries because of course homelessness in a third world country may be more
severe than for us in an first world country; however, we have to help our own before we
can even think about helping any one else. We often get caught in the illusion that there

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2013 (EndHomelessness.org).
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isnt a problem because we dont see it, but that does not mean that it is not happening.
Child homelessness is really happening in our country, and doesnt make the news like a
child who is being praised for being the Athlete of the Week. We are often spoon fed
what our nation wants to know, and bigger issues are often tucked away and hidden in a
drawer. But we cannot allow our youth to be tucked away; we have to fight for a group
that is unable to fight for themselves. We cannot wait on the government to begin to
make funding available for departments that are trying to help. We have to start noticing
the signs of children who are in danger of being homeless, such as them missing school,
always seeming to be hungry, or not wanting to go home. We also as a nation must begin
to set aside funding that can provide safe and affordable housing for those who need it,
trauma care for those who have experienced homelessness, job training that can help
teens or homeless families, and also counseling for parents and children who may have
difficulties living together without conflict. Of course this change cannot happen over
night it will take time and money to get children off of the streets and into proper
housing, but with patience and our nation all working together we can help our
vulnerable youth be the worry-free children they should be.
If you believe that there is a child in your area that may be in danger of
being homeless or may be already homeless it is important to contact local agencies that
will be able to help. There are government agencies that are set up all across America that
aid in helping children over come homelessness. In America the organizations are split up
into ten different regions depending on the state in which you live. For North Carolina we
would be Region1 and we have three main government agencies that support the youth:
Runaway and Homeless Youth, Family Violence and Prevention Services, and

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Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. If you are unsure in which region that your state is in
it is important to go to the website acf.hhs.gov. This website will show you the different
government agencies that are in your state. Another agency that does an amazing job in
helping homeless youth is the SNAPS, which is sponsored by the U.S Department of
Housing and Urban Development. SNAPS provide housing, after school programs, job
training for youth and many other things. By teaming up with law enforcement and health
care providers SNPAS help get these children off of the streets and into housing that is in
a safe and stable environment by giving them the health care that they need severely.
However, SNAPS does have different categories ranging between 1 and 4 for which
criteria a child meets. On the SNAPS website it does not provide any information on how
the children are placed but rather is determined after sitting down and meeting with the
child. If you would like more information on SNAPS benefits the website to visit is
www.hudexchange.info. If you are looking for something that is sponsored in your local
area instead of something on a national level the website www.standupforkids.org gives a
list of local agencies that help homeless youth in: Alabama, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and The District of Columbia. However
these are not the only programs that are available a simple Google search would be able
to show you all of the local agencies that are in your area.
After reading this essay, I would like you the reader to take away one thing. It
only takes one person, one voice to plant a seed in order to promote change. Child
homelessness is an ever-growing problem and cannot be stopped in one day; it will take
time, patience, and money. However, we have to help the youth who are unable to help

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themselves. They still have a chance to turn around their situation, and we have the
power to help them do this. We Pledge Allegiance to the Flag everyday when we are
young, and now we must live up to those words: One nation under God indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all. It is time for us to live up to what is expected of us and begin
to help those who are unable to help themselves, no longer will we walk past children on
the streets and give them loose change that we can spare but instead we will help those
children find homes, find their families, find help. No longer will we allow the media to
only report children who are starving in third-world countries, but we will start to cover
children that who need help in our country. No longer will we be so self-absorbed to buy
Christian Louboutin heels when we can take that money to help go into a starving childs
mouth. If we not helping solve the problem then we are the problem.

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Work Cited
"America's Youngest Outcasts." The National Center on Family Homelessness. N.p., n.d
Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Early Childhood Mental Health and Homelessness (2013): n. pag. Illinois Children

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Deleted: <http://www.homelesschildrena
merica.org/>.

Mental Health Partnership, Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

"Grantees of the Family and Youth Services Bureau." Grantees of the Family and Youth
Services Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"Homeless Children & Youth Education." - Homeless Education (CA Dept of

Education). N.p., 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

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Deleted: <http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs/cy/
>.

"Homeless Youth Legislation." National Alliance to End Homelessness:. N.p., n.d. Web.
30 Mar. 2015.

"Our Programs." StandUp For Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"SNAPS and Youth: An Overview - HUD Exchange." SNAPS and Youth: An Overview
- HUD Exchange. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Stromberg, Meghan. "Shadow Kids." Proquest.com. N.p., June 2006. Web. 12 Mar.
2015.

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Deleted: <http://www.endhomelessness.or
g/pages/youthlegislation>.

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"United States Interagency Council on Homelessness." Opening Doors. N.p., n.d. Web.
27 Apr. 2015.

Walker, Jade. "Number Of Homeless Children In America Surges To All-Time high

Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 09
Mar. 2015.

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