PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Amid Student Homelessness Awareness Week, lasting until Nov. 20th, political leaders and community organizations are doing what they can to shine a light on the growing problem.
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Democrat State Reps. Donna Bullock from Philadelphia and Gina Curry from Delaware are teaming up to introduce bills that give homeless students resources at school. Bullock says as pandemic relief is pulled back, things will only get worse.
“We will see more and more youth experiencing food insecurity and housing insecurity,” she said.
According to education.pa.gov, during the 2020-2021 school year, more than 32,000 students in Pennsylvania schools and 68,000 college students were homeless or living without adequate housing. Bullock said most of the youth couch hop, staying with friends or family for brief periods of time-–but nothing’s stable.
Executive Director of the Attic Youth Center, Jasper Liem says the pandemic and ever-increasing inflation have only complicated matters.
“Before the pandemic student homelessness was always higher,” he said. “We saw at a lot of larger universities and colleges their residential programs were at capacity and a lot of students already had to find other housing other than the dorms and that has only increased.”
Liem adds that housing is only available during the school year, leaving students to look for housing during school breaks and the summer season.
To help those at most significant risk within the LGBTQ community, the Trans Youth Resilience Fund allows $500 per trans & gender non-conforming youth to have some stable housing. The Attic Youth Center can assist students as well.
Liem says LGBTQ students are at even greater risk than the average homeless student because for these students, returning home isn’t always an option.
“25 percent of LGBTQ youth have experienced homelessness at one point in their lives,” she said. “No one wants to go back into the closet if they don’t have to, so over time they try to stay and find somewhere they can be themselves year-round.”
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