The start of a new school year can come with extra challenges for students who are currently unhoused, whether that means sleeping in a car, a motel or doubling up with relatives.
As of Sept. 4 at least 534 children in Connecticut were reported to be experiencing homelessness, according to the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
Last fall, at the start of the school year, 464 students were unhoused, including children living in shelters or transitional housing.
The rise in unhoused youth is a continuation of Connecticut’s affordability crisis, according to Sarah Fox, Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
“It's what we're learning from people who are currently experiencing homelessness across the state,” Fox said. “This is affordability. This is about one rent payment that's been missed, or increased rents that are making it unaffordable for a family to stay in their current housing.”
At least 157 children in Eastern Connecticut are currently unhoused, marking the largest population of unhoused children in the state, according to Fox. Fairfield County is trailing close behind, where there are at least 98 unhoused children.
Over the course of the last school year, nearly 5,000 students experienced some form of homelessness, identified through the schools’ McKinney-Vento liaisons. The vast majority of unhoused students are doubled up and living with other families, according to Fox.
There are signs teachers and school staff can look for to recognize when a student may be housing unstable, according to Fox. Some of those observations can include noticing changes in the student’s performance or the parent’s behavior.
“Increasingly, kids being distracted, not able to focus. Parents missing things when they've never missed anything before, not being able to show up for a teacher parent conference, not being able to pick your kids up on time,” Fox said.
And according to the Housing Collective, one in seven students attending Connecticut state community colleges are seeking housing support.
Being unhoused can severely impact students’ ability to learn, Fox said.
“You just can't thrive when you are trying to survive,” Fox said. “It is an extremely traumatic experience to lose what you have, to go to a new place, and to start over, not knowing what your future holds. And for children, it's a lot about losing all stability. The ability to stay present in school, to understand what's in front of you, it really is hampered.”
