Ending child homelessness in America.

Abstract

Approximately 1.5 million children experience homelessness in America each year. The current economic recession and staggering numbers of housing foreclosures have caused the numbers of homeless families to increase dramatically. The impact of homelessness on families and children is devastating. Without a place to call home, children are severely challenged by unpredictability, dislocation, and chaos. Homelessness and exposure to traumatic stresses place them at high risk for poor mental health outcomes. Despite the pressing needs of these children, federal policy during the last decade has focused primarily on chronically homeless adult individuals-to the exclusion of the families. In 2010, however, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued a comprehensive plan to eradicate homelessness for all people through interagency collaboration and aligning mainstream services. A key goal is to prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and children within 10 years. This policy-focused article describes several tools that can be used to help achieve this goal, including: general principles of care for serving homeless families and children; BSAFE-a promising practice that helps families access community-based services and supports; and the Campaign to End Child Homelessness aimed at action on behalf of homeless families and children at the national, state, and local levels.

Childhood Adversity and Development of Self Among Mothers Transitioning From Homelessness to Self-Sufficiency

“…This mismatch between employee compensation and housing costs creates a precarious financial situation for families. This imbalance approaches the crisis level when one considers the substantial drop in public housing support observed during the past 20 years (Bassuk, 2010;U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2007), increasing childcare expenses (Glasmeier & Arete, 2014), and other financial hurdles that could arise.…”

“…In contrast to previous views of family homelessness-that the situation was a short-term financial crisis-it is now generally accepted as a multifaceted social issue involving intraindividual and intrafamilial problems, as well as broader, systemic problems involving work and education, psychosocial well-being, and transgenerational family functioning . Following is a brief review of contributors typically linked to a structural, pathway-focused paradigm of family homelessness (see Bassuk, 2010, for a full review).…”

“…Research and advocacy targeting family homelessness continues to grow and often centers on homeless single mothers raising young children (Barrow & Zimmer, 1999;Bassuk, 2010;Burt, 2001;Burt et al, 1999). Yet little is known about what life is like for these mothers, how they perceive themselves, and how their personal histories contribute to experiences of transience as well as resilience.…”

“…Yet little is known about what life is like for these mothers, how they perceive themselves, and how their personal histories contribute to experiences of transience as well as resilience. Bassuk (2007) said that to develop an accurate understanding of the phenomenon of family homelessness, researchers must first appreciate and investigate past experiences that characterize their lives and seek richer and broader data sources to inform methodology and policy (see also Bassuk, 2010;Fogel, 1997). The present study addresses this gap through phenomenological analysis of life experiences among single mothers who are homeless.…”

A Philosophical Examination of Social Justice and Child Poverty

“…These children are not part of large-scale national surveys and counting of the poor; there are only estimates of how many children in modern welfare states have to live under these conditions. The body of research concerned with the health, education and social inclusion of such disadvantaged and even more particular vulnerable groups of children shows that the effects are serious (for the case of immigrants and refugees, see: Ruiz-Casares et al 2010;Fazel et al 2012;Hodes 2000; for the case of homeless children, see Bassuk 2010;Fantuzzo et al 2012). The official survey in the USA counted more than 600,000 people living on the street on a given night in January 2013, of whom 23 percent, or 138,149, were children under the age of eighteen; 6,197 of these children were unaccompanied (Meghan, Cortes and Morris 2013).…”