Being homeless is not something anyone wants to be, especially an innocent child. In data collected and analyzed by the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in cooperation with the U.S. Centers on Disease Control for the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that there are more than 100,000 homeless children across Massachusetts. With this large number of homeless children in Massachusetts it is possible as educators that we might have homeless children in our classrooms. This is important for us educators to understand because compared with low-income housed children, homeless children experience more health problems, developmental delays, increased anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and lower educational achievement (National Center on Family Homelessness, 1999).
An agency in Boston that works with homeless children is Horizons for Homeless Children. Part of the mission of Horizons for Homeless Children is to improve the lives of homeless children and their families. They provide homeless children in Massachusetts with the nurturing, stimulation and opportunities for early education and play that all children need to learn and grow in healthy ways. Below is a link to their website that provides more information on homeless children and also includes interesting statistics, videos, and ways to volunteer.
http://www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org/index.asp
- - Elizabeth
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