Posted on October 7, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone A new report from the Independent Budget Office (IBO) describes the challenges – largely invisible – facing a tremendous number of New York City students: Nearly 83,000 public school children lived in temporary housing at some point during the 2013-14 schoolyear. Of these, 27,772 stayed in a homeless shelter, and 48,336 were precariously doubled-up in overcrowded apartments. Numerous studies have detailed the toll homelessness takes on its youngest victims, including significant academic achievement gaps stemming from attendance issues, constant stress and ostracism from their housed peers. The Coalition is committed to helping these children overcome the emotional and academic obstacles associated with homelessness though our innovative youth programs. We also recently completed our annual Project: Back to School drive, which provides backpacks stuffed with school supplies to thousands of homeless boys and girls throughout the city. Most importantly, the Coalition continues to fight for the proven, housing-based solutions that will ensure that no child has to endure the trauma of homelessness. Politico New York highlighted the findings of the IBO report: According to the IBO report, there were 82,807 students living in some form of temporary housing during the 2013-2014 school year, including 27,772 who were living in shelters. There are about 1.1 million [public] schoolchildren in New York City. … The report also found the vast majority of students in Department of Education schools are living in poverty: 80 percent are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, the department’s main metric for determining poverty. [Mayor] de Blasio has taken steps to address the city’s large and growing homeless population, and [NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña] has spoken about the needs of students in shelters during recent school visits, noting that many of the city’s 94 struggling “Renewal Schools” include higher-than-average percentages of students living in temporary housing.
