Homelessness is affecting a growing number of children in New York City. When a family is homeless, school often becomes the only stable institution in a child’s life. 

In the 2015–16 school year, 105,445 students in New York City public schools were living in temporary housing, up from 86,694 the previous school year, according to state data compiled by the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students. These children and their families are living in city shelters, doubled up with family and friends, or living in small motel rooms far from any supportive or sustaining community.

A recent report by the city‘s Independent Budget Office found school attendance rates are much lower for students living in city shelters; the families of these children often are forced to move multiple times; and the constant upheaval isolates students from support networks and disrupts household routines, such as doing laundry. More than a third of students classified as homeless live in city shelters, according to the data analyzed by the IBO.

A small number of city public schools serve most of the homeless students in the city, yet the IBO found the city’s school funding formula does not provide them with additional resources. The report also found a lack of coordination between the city’s education and homeless services departments. 

The absence of a permanent home affects the ability of children to come to school each day focused on learning. Some of our schools are providing washers and dryers for families to use or allowing late-arriving students from shelters to take breakfast into class. The UFT’s community learning schools offer medical care, counseling and workshops for parents. The Positive Learning Collaborative, a joint initiative of the UFT and the DOE, is training staff in schools participating in the program to help children manage the stress and conflict of their lives in and out of the classroom. 

The UFT, working in partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless, now organizes a winter coat drive each fall and hosts a Thanksgiving luncheon and a December holiday party for homeless children each year.

The challenges are great, but UFT members rise to meet them because, as public school educators, they are committed to serving all children.