This is the first part of a series of reports following the trials of a homeless family with four children and their parents. It is a portrait of what it looks like to be without home, hearth and the simple conveniences that one enjoys with a permanent roof over one’s head.

It is a 360-degree look at homelessness, from what led the Castellio family into their predicament, as they navigate the social services systems and housing issues, to what it took them to resolve their problems as the lives and well-being of their children and their marriage hung in the balance.

Like many families who find themselves losing their homes, the Castellio’s faced the foreclosure of the home they were renting. In hopes of making a better life in a different state they were lured by the promise of a job in Texas, only to find it did not exist. Returning to Gainesville they had run through their savings and were starting over.

Living paycheck-to-paycheck is the reality for most Americans. National statistics show that the average American is two paychecks away from becoming homeless.

How easy is it for you to find yourself homeless?

360-Degrees of Homelessness – Homelessness Through the Eyes of a Child (Part 2)

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “At least 1.35 million children are homeless during the year; 200,000 are homeless on any given day.”

In the second part of the series the Castellio’s eldest daughter shares what it is like for her –why she feels it necessary to hide her family’s circumstances from her friends and kids at school.

She is bright and articulate and shows no visible signs of being without a home, often living with her 2 brothers and little sister in the family van.

“What homeless children need most of all is a home.  While they are experiencing homelessness, however, it is essential that children remain in school.  School is one of the few stable, secure places in the lives of homeless children and youth — a place where they can acquire the skills needed to help them escape poverty.” (National Coalition for the Homeless)

Still the Castellio daughter manages to make all A’s and B’s during the many months that her family is homeless.

“Families with children are by most accounts among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. In the United States an estimated 1.35 million from 600 thousand families will experience homelessness today, while 3.8 million more will live in “precarious housing situations.” [1] Put another way, of every 200 children in America, 3 will be homeless today and more than double that number will be at risk for homelessness. [2]

Homelessness has a devastating impact on children and youths’ educational opportunities. Residency requirements, guardianship requirements, delays in transfer of school records, lack of transportation, and lack of immunization records often prevent homeless children from enrolling in school. Homeless children and youth who are able to enroll in school still face barriers to regular attendance: while 87% of homeless youth are enrolled in school, only 77% attend school regularly. [3]

According to recent federal data, during the 2007-2008 school year 794,617 homeless children and youth were enrolled in public schools. This number, however, is an underestimate, as not all school districts report data to the U.S. Department of Education, and because the data collected represents only those children identified and enrolled in school. Furthermore, the number does not include all preschool-age children, or any infants and toddlers.

Living arrangements for homeless children can be highly improvisational. These situations are often precarious, unstable, and, at times, dangerous. Of children who schools identified as homeless during the 2007-2008 school year, 22% lived in shelters, 65% lived with other family members or friends, 7% lived in motels, and 6% lived without shelter. [4]

In addition to enrollment problems, the high mobility associated with homelessness has severe educational consequences. Homeless families move frequently due to limits to length of shelter stays, search for safe and affordable housing or employment, or to escape abusive family members. Too often, homeless children have to change schools because shelters or other temporary accommodations are not located within their school district. Homeless children and youth frequently transfer schools multiple times in a single year because of these conditions.

Every time a child has to change schools, his or her education is disrupted. According to the Institute for Children and Poverty, homeless children are nine times more likely to repeat a grade, four times more likely to drop out of school, and three times more likely to be placed in special education programs than their housed peers.” [5]

SOURCES:

Institute for Children and Poverty. (2008). “National Data on Family Homelessness.” Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://www.icpny.org/index.asp?CID=7.

Data compiled using Data from the Institute for Children and Poverty. (2008). “National Data on Family Homelessness.” Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://www.icpny.org/index.asp?CID=7. and from the U.S. Census Bureau (2009). Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_DP3YR2&-ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on

U.S. Department of Education. “Education OF Homeless Youth Program: Learning to Succeed.” Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/esed/learnsucceed/exec_sum.html

The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY). “Facts About the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness.” Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://naehcy.org/facts.html#why.

Institute for Children and Poverty. (2008). “National Data on Family Homelessness.” Retrieved September 21, 2009 from http://www.icpny.org/PDF/reports/AccesstoSuccess.pdf?Submit1=Free+Download.

“Growing numbers of Americans who have lost houses to foreclosure are landing in homeless shelters, according to social service groups and a recent report by a coalition of housing advocates.

Only three years ago, foreclosure was rarely a factor in how people became homeless. But among the homeless people that social service agencies have helped over the last year, an average of 10 percent lost homes to foreclosure, according to “Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009,” a survey produced by the National Coalition for the Homeless and six other advocacy groups.

In the Midwest, foreclosure played a role for 15 percent of newly homeless people, according to the survey, reflecting soaring rates of unemployment — Ohio’s reached 10.8 percent in August — and aggressive lending to people with damaged credit.

Most people who become homeless because of foreclosure had been low-income renters whose landlords stopped making their mortgage payments, leaving them scrambling for new housing with little notice and scant savings, according to the survey and interviews with shelters.” (NYT, Published: October 18, 2009)

In Part 3, the Castellio’s live through the challenges of navigating the social services system to get subsidized housing, while seeking work and tending to the basic needs of their children. The Catch-22’s are apparent. They can’t qualify for housing unless they have employment, but can’t get  jobs if they don’t have an address. But, far more challenging is the scarcity of affordable housing in general.

Christopher Castellio says he, “doesn’t want a hand out, but a leg up.”

***

LINKS:

Foreclosures Force Ex-Homeowners to Turn to Shelters http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/business/economy/19foreclosed.html?_r=2

“What’s wrong with homeless shelters?” asks one New York Times blog post. Many, if not most, shelters are not set up to meet the unique needs of families with children. Families, like the Castellio’s, are mixed with the general population of the chronic homeless who are often drug-addicted, mentally ill, and have histories of violent pasts.

Only a small number of shelter serves women, children and families. Crowded conditions and late night busing to one-night shelters, for example, take a toll on thousands of families applying for shelter each year, according to NYC.gov. Furthermore, historically, there has been little priority placed on sheltering homeless families in their own communities. This has made it more difficult for some families to maintain community and family ties, while making it hard for children to remain in their own schools.

An Alternative…

In response to this crisis, the Interfaith Hospitality Network brings the faith community together to help families regain their housing, their independence, and their dignity.  IHN is a partnership of congregations within a community helping families who are facing homelessness.  It offers an opportunity for volunteers of all faiths to reduce homelessness and transform lives.

Interfaith Hospitality Networks are currently operating in 39 states and the District of Columbia, in large cities, suburbs, and rural counties.  They mobilize community resources: houses of worship for lodging, congregations for volunteers, social service agencies for assessment and referrals, and existing facilities for day programs.  This strategy enables networks to help homeless families achieve lasting independence at a third of the cost of traditional shelters.

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http://www.familypromise.org/program/interfaith-hospitality-network

http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/whats-wrong-with-homeless-shelters/?scp=2&sq=homeless%20shelters&st=cse

http://www.familyhomelessness.org/?q=node/4/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/nyregion/24homeless.html

http://www.nationaltbcenter.edu/TB_IC/docs/09HomelessSh.pdf

http://www.hsunited.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/08/homeless-in-america-have_n_314449.html

The Castellio’s fight every step of the way to keep their family together. As a father and husband, Christopher credits his resourcefulness as a former Marine and love for his family to resolving his family’s dilemma. Every impasse was an occasion to circumvent institutional bureaucracy.

According to the National Alliance to end Homelessness, “there is a common misconception that homelessness is an issue that only pertains to single men and women, but in reality thousands of families a year will experience homelessness.  In fact, 41% of the homeless population is comprised of families. Homelessness is a devastating experience for families.  It disrupts virtually every aspect of family life, damaging the physical and emotional health of family members, interfering with children’s education and development, and frequently resulting in the separation of family members.”

This story has a happy ending, but not all do.

***

The major reasons and lack of causes for homelessness as documented by many reports and studies include:

• The deinstitutionalization movement from the 1950s onwards in state mental health systems, to shift towards ‘community-based’ treatment of the mentally ill, as opposed to long-term commitment in institutions. Many patients ultimately lost their rooms, didn’t get proper community health support, and ended up in the streets.
• Redevelopment and gentrification activities instituted by cities across the country through which low-income neighborhoods are declared blighted and demolished to make way for projects that generate higher property taxes and other revenue, creating a shortage of housing affordable to low-income working families, the elderly poor, and the disabled.
• The failure of urban housing projects to provide safe, secure, and affordable housing to the poor.
• The economic crises and “stagflation” of the 1970s, which caused high unemployment. Unlike European countries, US unemployment insurance does not allow unemployed insurance recipients to obtain job training/education while receiving benefits except under very limited situations.
• The failure of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide effective mental health care and meaningful job training for many homeless veterans particularly those of the Vietnam War.
• Foster home children are not given job training in school or at home. Without a means to make money, nearly half of foster children in the United States become homeless when they are released from foster care at age 18.
• Natural disasters that destroy homes: hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, etc. Places of employment are often destroyed too, causing unemployment and transience.
• People who have served time in prison, have abused drugs and alcohol, or have a history of mental illness find it difficult to impossible to find employment for years at a time because of the use of computer background checks by potential employers.

SOURCES:

Donohoe, Martin, M.D., “Homelessness in the United States: History, Epidemiology, Health Issues, Women, and Public Policy“, Ob/Gyn & Women’s Health journal, 2004;9(2) July 7, 2004.

Joint Hearing op. cit., May 1984, p. 32 IUD Office for Policy Development and Research, A Report to the Secretary on the Homeless and Emergency Shelters, May 1, 1984.

United States Conference of Mayors, “A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities: a 27-city survey”, December 2001.

United States Conference of Mayors, “US Conference of Mayors/Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey: 2005” PDF (1.19 MB), December 2005, “Main Causes of Homelessness”, p.63-64. [1]PDF (62.3 KB) [2]

Vanneman, Reeve, “Main Causes of Homelessness“, University of Maryland

Cf. Levinson, Encyclopedia of Homelessness, article entry on Causes of Homelessness: Overview by Paul Koegel, pp.50-58.

Piasecki, Joe.”Throwaway kids: Thousands of area foster children leave county care for a dangerous and desperate life on the streets“, Pasadena Weekly, June 22, 2006.

Fagan, Kevin, “Saving foster kids from the streets“, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, April 11, 2004.