Homelessness

by Crystal Harvey, M.A., Doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

The number of families with children experiencing homelessness is increasing at an alarming rate. In October, 2008, in in Massachusetts alone, 2, 472 families were living in shelters provided by the MA Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) including 4,413 children and youth. Additionally, approximately 1,000 children and youth are temporarily housed in domestic violence shelters, substance abuse shelters, and HIV/AIDS shelters. These numbers are conservative considering families denied access to shelters and those who may be living in a motel room, car, or campground are not considered in these statistics.

How does homelessness affect children?

The impact of homelessness begins well before a child is born with chronic and acute parental health problems and a lack of prenatal care. Children born into homelessness are more likely to have lower birth weights, to be exposed to environmental factors that can endanger their health, and are less likely to receive essential immunizations.

Children experiencing homelessness can exhibit a wide range of physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral challenges. While children have a variety of reactions to the stressors inherent in homelessness, there are some common factors that may be evident in a child experiencing homelessness.   Children experiencing homelessness are often physically disadvantaged with a higher incidence of unwanted weight loss, more frequent colds, unmet dental needs, sleep disturbances (falling asleep in class) and inconsistent medical attention, including a lack of immunizations.

The cumulative effects of homelessness can cause a range of emotional and behavioral challenges.  Psychological stress associated with overcrowded and chaotic shelters, academic failure, loss of control, and unstable relationships can often lead to feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, excessive worry/fear, feelings of loneliness and isolation, hypervigilance, and low self-esteem/self-concept.  Erratic school attendance and tardiness as well as changing schools multiple times are often associated with homeless children. These children may also lose books and homework frequently, have poor hygiene, or have sudden changes in their behavior. Socially, children experiencing homelessness may appear more withdrawn, distracted, and show deficits in problem solving skills and conflict resolution.  Homelessness can contribute to developmental delays and difficulties in learning and instability may lead to difficultly paying attention and poor academic performance.

How can schools and professionals help homeless children?

Creating a positive climate is essential in supporting all students and a sense of safety and consistency is especially important for children experiencing homelessness. Children from unstable living environments see inconsistency on a continual basis. The classroom should be a place where the rules are clear and not changed arbitrarily. Children who live with daily stress at home need a quiet, controlled atmosphere at school. Teachers should be positive role models the child can trust. Children watch very closely how the adults in their lives react to stressful situations and they often learn how to handle these situations through the behaviors that are modeled for them.

Parents may not have the means to provide special treats for a child’s birthday or pay for them to attend field trips, so planning for alternative ways to celebrate is important. It is also important to consider that children experiencing homelessness often do not have a quiet place to do homework and may lack the ability to complete assignments independently. It may be helpful to arrange assignments so that homeless children can keep up with their peers without having to take things home. Being familiar with community resources and providing information to the family about school programs such as breakfast and lunch plans and after school clubs help create positive communications and form relationships with families. Above all, treating families with respect and dignity is essential when interacting with families experiencing homelessness. When parents and families feel comfortable and safe, they are more likely to seek out and accept much needed support, which in turn benefits their children.

The information in the article above was drawn from the following sources:

Additional Sources of Information

Disclaimer: Material on the Project INTERFACE web site is intended as general information. It is not a recommendation for treatment, nor should it be considered medical or mental health advice. Project INTERFACE urges families to discuss all information and questions related to medical or mental health care with a health care professional.