Youth Homelessness

Policy Matters: Closing the Education Gap for Homeless Students

Guest blogger Laurel Kirbawy-Grenfell testifies in favor of the Homeless Student Stability Act before a Senate committee. Laurel writes that the act would help ensure that homeless students's basic needs are met. Image credit: TVW

Guest blogger Laurel Kirbawy-Grenfell's job is to partner with school districts to make sure children, including homeless students, are getting the services they need. She explains how the Homeless Student Stability Act would help children across the state achieve their academic potential, and shares what you can do to support this important policy.

Picturing Child Homelessness: The Challenges Behind “The Big Brain”

Here is a portion of our new infographic, “The Big Brain.” If you want to see the rest of the infographic, keep reading! Image from the Project on Family Homelessness.

In September, Seattle University students Perry Firth and Krista Kent created nine new infographics as part of our series, Poverty and Homelessness in the Public School System. The experience inspired them to create one super-infographic that they nicknamed “The Big Brain.” What are the perils of encapsulating so much information into one bold visualization? Perry takes us behind the scenes of creating this brand-new infographic, “Child Homelessness & Toxic Stress: Far-Reaching Consequences.”

“How Did I Get Here?” Tacoma Parents Reflect on Losing Home in StoryCorps Interview

Franklin and Sherry Gilliard live in transitional housing with their three children in Tacoma. Image credit: StoryCorps.

The Gilliards never thought they'd experience homelessness. Then the Great Recession hit, and their small business struggled. Drowning in debt, they eventually lost their home and moved their family of five into a shelter. Listen to their story, check out an infographic about child homelessness in Washington, and learn what you can do to spark change.

Innovating Toward Academic Success: Empowering Students Who Are Homeless or Living With Toxic Stress

In this post we discuss some very good ideas, like connecting housing and support services to school and using research on toxic stress to shape how schools respond to learners. Image from Pixabay.com

In this final post in our series on homelessness in the public education system, Perry Firth profiles promising programs that are addressing the needs of children living with poverty and toxic stress. Read about First Place Scholars, The McCarver Elementary School Special Housing Program, and trauma-informed schools in Washington state.

McKinney-Vento, IDEA and You: Strategies for Helping Homeless Children With Disabilities

We hope this series takes a jumble of policy and turns it into helpful strategies for serving students who are homeless and have disabilities. Word cloud using McKinney-Vento and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act definitions, created at <a href="http://www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud/">jasondavies.com</a> — We hope this series takes a jumble of policy and turns it into helpful strategies for serving students who are homeless and have disabilities. Word cloud using McKinney-Vento and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act definitions, created at jasondavies.com

Part Six in our series on homelessness and poverty in the public education system provides an overview of the policies that impact the day-to-day lives of children who are homeless and who also have disabilities. It includes some strategies that school professionals can use to serve their learners who are homeless with disabilities.

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