Homelessness in the City Danielle Davis EDU 644: Child & Family Welfare

A Tale of Two Cities Chicago  138,575 homeless people reported in 8/14  50% of the homeless population were families with 48,743 children  Of which 22,144 were enrolled in school 2013/14; 98% were of color  Public Policies:  Sweet Home Chicago  Support/Resources:  Free transportation to/from school  Homeless Prevention Call Center  Phone Call t “311” can provide information to the homeless population  Chicago Coalition for the Homeless New York  Nearly 20,000 people under the age of  Children under age 18, accounted for 39% of the city’s homeless population  Support/Resources:  Covenant House New York  Mental Health Clinics  Mother & Baby Programs  Safe Horizon

Similarities  Majority of the homeless youth and youth at risk have been victims to some kind of neglect, abuse, emotional trauma, maltreatment from within their homes that forced them into homelessness  Both cities offer some sort of legal aid or help to the homeless population  Homelessness amongst young people up to age 24 is increasing in both places

Something I’ve Learned  Well, which I guess I kind of already knew, was the limited amount of space and resources shelters have, nationwide. I say I already knew given the number of homeless people I pass by everyday on my walk to work. I always asked myself, why don’t they go to a shelter? Well, when there is no space because local shelters, such as the Crib in New York, only sleep 20 people, age 18-24, when there are hundreds of thousands in need, you sleep on the park bench or in the subway tunnel.