Keeping homeless kids in school

Kids aren’t homeowners, but they have paid an unforgiving price throughout the housing industry collapse. They have lost their homes, and consequently, they have frequently had to change schools. 41% of students who have experienced a loss of housing attend two or more schools in one year while 28% attend 3 or more in that time. Continue reading

We can end homelessness, and create jobs, too

Baltimore is a city of staggeringly disappointing statistics: 11 percent official unemployment with several communities ravaged by real unemployment above 30 percent; 25 percent poverty which is 15 percent higher than the state of Maryland and 10 percent higher than the national poverty rate; approximately 4,000 homeless residents sleep outdoors or in shelters daily… Continue reading

Preventing homelessness

Health Care for the Homeless was pleased last month to release a new report exploring the relationships among homelessness, incarceration, and re-entry in Baltimore. Student interns, HCH staff, and dozens of people who have themselves experienced homelessness and incarceration spent long hours listening to more than 400 men and women who had been released from jail or prison within the past ten years. Continue reading

What if school were a home—a safe, stable, supportive environment—for every child in Baltimore who does not have one?

Across the nation, the economic crisis has caused homelessness among families and youth to increase dramatically. Public schools nationwide saw a 41% increase in the number of identified homeless children and youth over the past two years, reaching nearly one … Continue reading

Baltimore students explore solutions for two critical city problems

According to a study by Baltimore’s Center for Poverty Solutions, 50% of those interviewed at soup kitchens and drop-in centers had been incarcerated, many for public urination, loitering, sleeping outdoors, and other nonviolent crimes that stemmed from being homeless.  Of … Continue reading