Letter to the Editor: The Hidden Toll of Homelessness on Riverside’s Children

What would you do if your kindergartener’s best friend was homeless? Take a moment and imagine yourself in your kitchen preparing that perfect snack, that treat you know your precious five-year-old (maybe your niece, grandson, or your godchild) will be overjoyed to see it placed before them. You serve it on a cartoon character plate because you know that this will make the treat all the more special. When presenting this to your precious little one, you are surprised that their usual glee is a little muted. You sit and ask about their day. As they share, you can hear the burden and concern on their little heart as they share that their best friend, the friend that they play with every day, the friend that has stood up for them on the playground and encourages them through their own moments of uncertainty, their very best friend is living in a car. They look up at you with those gorgeous eyes glistening with tears and ask a simple question, “Can we help”?

Today, as you read these words, there are 2.5 million children homeless, more unhoused children in the United States of America than there were homeless individuals during The Great Depression. 1 in 30 children will experience homelessness this year, and 1 in 19 children under the age of six will experience homelessness. Family homelessness increased by 16% between 2022 and 2023, and 34.9% of all persons sheltered in 2023 were families with children. In addition, children represented more than 40% of all individuals who face eviction throughout the course of a year. Do these statistics surprise you? They should! When we talk about the homelessness crisis that faces us at the moment, we rarely speak about one of the largest growing populations of unhoused individuals– children under the age of 18.

Children who experience homelessness suffer real harm. Unhoused children are three times more likely to be placed in special education programs. They are 8-9 times more likely to repeat a grade, and 42% drop out of school at least once. 47% of children experiencing homelessness suffer from anxiety, depression, or withdrawal. In addition, unhoused children are seven times more likely to attempt suicide. Community, we have work to do!  

The causes of homelessness are complex. The increased cost of living, the shortage of affordable housing, the lack of affordable and flexible childcare solutions, and the astronomical expense of healthcare are all contributing factors, and yet when it comes to the conversations around the issue, we hear a familiar cadence of mental health care and substance abuse disorder. While these issues are certainly important, the rates of these challenges are almost identical to the rates of these challenges in housed populations (many of us simply have the cover of home to obscure our struggles from public view). Finding sustainable solutions requires an examination of the complexity of the challenge. Moreover, seeing the humanity of our unhoused neighbors and recognizing that their struggles are not much different than our own is integral to moving forward.

The challenges of affordability that drive members of our community to find shelter in nontraditional ways are the challenges that we each face in order to afford our lives. The cost of housing is rising, and the effects on the lowest-income earners are significant. The supply of low cost rentals fell by 3.9 million units over the last decade during a time when the need has grown exponentially. Only 33 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.  

No problem in our community can be solved until individuals determine that a solution is paramount to our success. Every shift in our collective focus has been a result of an awakening of our hearts. Let us welcome a shift of thinking about homelessness as an individual problem as a result of a shortcoming to a challenge that we can overcome as a community together.  This election season, there is so much discussion of hopelessness. Let me remind you of the three most important words that define this nation: We THE People! These words, first spoken so long ago, ring clear through time, heralding each and every person whose feet caress this land. Let us listen with a more discerning ear, let us ask in-depth questions when meeting those who aspire to represent us, let us organize to demand more investments in building thriving neighborhoods for all, let us get involved with organizations that are doing the work on the ground, let us give our dollars to places committed to serving our unhoused neighbors with dignity and hope, let us together ensure that every child in our community has a home.

Claire Jefferson-Glipa, Executive Director Family Promise of Riverside