Growing Number of Homeless Children in U.S.

A new report is raising the alarm about the growing number of homeless children in the United States. It estimates that 2.5 million children or 1 in 30 had no permanent home in 2013. That’s an 8% increase from the year before. Carmela DeCandia, director of the National Center on Family Homelessness, is the report’s author. “Children are homeless in every state across the country; it is not just an urban problem it is happening in cities, counties and towns all across America.” Homeless children overwhelming come from single-parent homes, continues DeCandia. “What we know about homeless families is that they are typically headed by single mothers who are parenting young children; more than half the homeless child population are under age six.” She says that homelessness puts children at tremendous risk. “This kind of instability really can become toxic for their development. They are sick more often than their house counterparts, they are hungry more often, more than 20% of pre-schoolers and up to 40% of school age children have a mental health problem.” The report also found that homeless children can be permanently scarred by hunger and exposure to violence, concludes DeCandia. “The accumulation of these kind of adverse childhood experiences impacts their development, their learning, their emotional and their social relationships and it really can last into adulthood.” To read the complete report, visit the website for the National Center on Family Homelessness.