ZERO TO THREE’s Post

Office of Head Start Director Khari Garvin shares enrollment strategies and why all children and families experiencing #homelessness should have a “Home at Head Start.” We at SchoolHouse Connection agree that comprehensive Head Start services are what children and families need and deserve to thrive, especially those experiencing homelessness. 🎥 https://bit.ly/3wcrTOy 💥 He challenges all Head Start and Early Head Start programs to: 1️⃣ Prioritize children and families experiencing homelessness; 2️⃣ Work with community partners like homeless liaisons to provide enrollment referrals and supports. Rely on your parent leaders to help you find families who may be sharing housing due to financial or other hardships or emergencies; and 3️⃣ Help staff understand the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness and how to engage in caring conversations with families without ever using the word “homeless."

This report on the impact homelessness and housing instability has on young children is so valuable. Much of the data and particular policy analysis is on North Carolina, but these issues are felt nationwide. One poignant insight is that homeless shelters and services often don’t support the particular, material needs of young children – there’s no extra support for formula, diapers, or baby food, for example. This makes the already painful and distressing situation of being homeless even harder for families. #northcarolina #duke #housinginstability #homelessness #childhoodhomelessness #inequity #families #caregivers #nyulangone #parentcorps https://lnkd.in/g-5b38qV

Homelessness is a pressing issue that significantly impacts individuals, but also families with children. For individuals experiencing homelessness, the lack of stable housing can have devastating effects on their physical and mental well-being. The constant struggle for survival can lead to high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.  For families with children, homelessness has even more profound implications. The instability of not having a place to call home disrupts children's lives and hinders their development. They may frequently change schools, resulting in educational setbacks and a sense of disconnection from their peers. The constant uncertainty and stress can impact their emotional well-being, leading to behavioral problems, lower academic performance, and increased risk of long-term negative outcomes.

5 – 11 August is Homelessness Week, a chance to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness and advocate for the solutions needed to end homelessness in Australia. Homelessness is a significant social issue that affects many Australians. On any given night, 122,494 people in Australia are experiencing homelessness – one in seven are children under 12 and 23 per cent (almost one in 4) are children and young people between 12 and 24 (ABS Census 2021). When a family experiences homelessness, there can be negative and diverse consequences for the social and emotional wellbeing of any children involved. Watch our webinar exploring strategies to respond to the impact of homelessness on parenting and support the social and emotional wellbeing of children experiencing homelessness: https://lnkd.in/gAuX9Eeu #HW2024 #HomelessWeek #Homelessness #Homeless #Housing

My Crash Course in the Realities of Homelessness We often think we understand homelessness, but some stories reveal just how complex and heartbreaking it really is. I'm trying to help a single mother of three special needs children, including one with level 2 autism, trapped in what looks like an impossible situation: • Homeless after her husband's incarceration • Unable to work without childcare • Can't enroll kids in school without an address • Assistance programs on hold due to frequent moves Her struggle exposes critical gaps in our social safety net and challenges our assumptions about homelessness. This is more than finding shelter for this family. It's about breaking a vicious cycle that often tears families apart and perpetuates the generational cycle of poverty. Read the full story via the link below. What can we do as a community to better support our most vulnerable families? Share your thoughts below. #Homelessness #SpecialNeeds #SocialJustice #CommunitySupport

What a disappointment to see the Federal Government’s Summary Consultation Report on developing the National Housing and Homelessness Plan. Experts and stakeholders including Yfoundations participated in multiple consultations to advocate for a standalone plan for unaccompanied children and young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Responses designed for adults will NOT work for children and young people. This Summary Consultation Report doesn’t even mention children once, nor does it talk about the need for age and developmentally-appropriate services and more youth homelessness services. Our children and young people deserve a future without the threat of homelessness or remaining in violent homes. They deserve to be healthy, safe, securely housed and given the same opportunities to education and employment as every other child and young person in Australia.  If we continue to neglect these cohorts and fail to break the cycle, they will be the next generation of adults experiencing homelessness. Evidence strongly indicates that children or young people who experience homelessness are more likely to face homelessness again as an adult. The Federal Government needs to go back to drawing board and review the outcomes from the consultations and those submissions that called for a dedicated focus on unaccompanied children and young people. Yfoundations’ submission has not landed on the DSS website but you can access it here: https://lnkd.in/gaGacZ5w

Fighting homelessness hinges on two concurrent challenges: 1) Taking people off the street; and 2) Preventing those at highest risk from becoming unhoused. As I have long argued, the clearest entry point in tackling that second challenge is by better helping youth who age out of #fostercare. Released in July, this report from the California Policy Lab uses administrative data to better understand and predict #homelessness for Los Angeles County #fosteryouth. Between the ages of 21 and 24, 30% of all the 18-21 year-old youth in 2019 were tagged as having experienced homelessness by the Department of Social Services. This important research dovetails with longitudinal survey responses, wherein one quarter of California foster youth reported experienced homelessness between the ages of 21 and 23. Thanks to the authors Janey Rountree, Robert Santillano, Maya Buenaventura, Brian Blackwell, April Nunn and Andi Vidaurre for using their talents to highlight the acute need to do better for these young people. I am glad for L.A. County's support of this important research, and its potential for driving change. Please read here: https://lnkd.in/gKy5nUhD Better Angels The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Reissa Foundation Conrad N. Hilton Foundation WHH FOUNDATION Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Blue Meridian Partners Specialty Family Foundation Weingart Foundation Matthew Haas Yali Lincroft Zaneta J. Smith, MSW May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Annie E. Casey Foundation Casey Family Programs Child Welfare League of America National Foster Youth Institute Think of Us California Community Foundation

While there is no denying that homelessness is a tragedy irrespective of age, children and young people represent a significant and growing representation in both state and national data reporting systems. Yet they are still to receive any form of recognition in terms of a nationally led coordinated response to address the specific issues that lead children and young people to experience homelessness. Federal Government consultations conducted in 2023 in Launceston were attended by local crisis youth services that were very vocal on the ‘gaps’, barriers and poor outcomes in the youth homelessness system as a result of successive inadequate and harmful government policy. To be blunt, there was very little good news to share during the consultation session - despite repeat requests to do so. A consistent theme in stakeholder feedback was an overwhelming level of concern with a failing system that is supposed to support our children and young people - our future. If government is serious about reducing the personal and financial cost of homelessness in the longer term, it needs to apply targeted investment in the early years. It’s not a one size fits all approach.

Older adults are the fastest-growing age demographic of people experiencing homelessness. According to The Fulcrum, over 138,000 individuals aged 55 and older were homeless in 2023. We aim to change the narrative that homelessness is the result of personal decisions mostly involving addiction and mental illness; although both can be factors in play, the nationwide affordable housing crisis is the main driving force above all else. Federal housing assistance is at its lowest level in about 25 years, sending homelessness and rental prices to historic highs. https://lnkd.in/gnsHk9ku #endhomelessness

What are wraparound supports and how can they benefit students experiencing homelessness? Kimberly Anderson and Patricia Popp dig into the details in this blog post. https://lnkd.in/e_5p3jWj #homelessnessawareness