Georgia Ranks 41 out of 50 States in Child Homelessness
More than 45,500 Georgia children are homeless over the course of a year-according to a new report released today by The National Center on Family Homelessness. The report ranks Georgia 41 out of 50 states in child homelessness. This rank represents a composite score based on four factors-number of homeless children, their well-being, the risk for child homelessness, and state policy and planning activities. See America's Youngest Outcasts 2010 (www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org) for more Georgia information and the full report.
The report, which updates a previous study by The National Center, looks at trends in child homeless from 2006 to 2010. After the release of the previous study, The National Center on Family Homelessness and the Georgia Alliance To End Homelessness launched the Georgia Campaign to End Child Homelessness. In March 2011, the Georgia Campaign released the Georgia Plan to End Child Homelessness to chart a path toward preventing and ending child and family homelessness in the state. The recommendations in the Georgia Plan were developed in response to information collected from local stakeholders and homeless parents in regions throughout the state in partnership with the Georgia Alliance To End Homelessness, Inc. The Georgia Plan is also available at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.
"The Georgia Alliance partners have taken very seriously the charge to do better by the homeless children and families in our state," said Katheryn A. Preston, MSW, Executive Director and Founding Member of the Georgia Alliance To End Homelessness (www.gahomeless.org). "The Recession and all the indecisiveness on Capitol Hill have posed greater obstacles than we initially anticipated when we crafted Georgia's Plan to End Child Homelessness. However, we continue to fight the battle and have been able to make some positive progress in the treatment and care of Georgia's homeless children and families. We will continue to enlist more partners, educate more of the public, document the needs and eat this elephant one bite at a time."
Nationally, America's Youngest Outcasts 2010 finds that 1.6 million children, or one in 45 children, are homeless annually in America. This represents an increase of 38% during the years impacted by the economic recession (2007 to 2010). The report finds that children experiencing homelessness in America suffer from hunger and poor physical and emotional health as well as limited academic proficiency in reading and math. The constant barrage of stressful and traumatic experiences has profound effects on their development and ability to learn.
"The Recession has been a man-made disaster for vulnerable children," said Ellen L. Bassuk, MD, President and Founder of The National Center on Family Homelessness and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "Nationally, there are more homeless children today than after the natural disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which caused historic levels of homelessness in 2006. The Recession's economic devastation has left one in 45 children homeless in a year-an increase of 38% from 2007 to 2010."
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Georgia Ranks 41st of 50 States in Child Homelessness
"In the face of this man-made disaster, there must be no further cuts in federal and state programs that help homeless children and families. Deeper cuts will only create more homelessness that will cost us more to fix in the long run," Bassuk concluded. "We can take specific, federal action now in areas of housing, child care, education, domestic violence, and employment and training to stabilize vulnerable families and prevent child homelessness."
The Georgia Campaign is working at the state level to implement the recommendations in the Georgia Plan to End Child Homelessness. The Georgia Campaign pledges to provide leadership where it can have the greatest impact, and urges the state's political, social service, advocacy, non-profit, business, and philanthropic sectors to step forward in areas where their leadership, advice, supports, and resources can be most effective. For more information about the Georgia Campaign, visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.
Georgia Campaign to End Child Homelessness
The Georgia Campaign to End Child Homelessness seeks to galvanize public and political will to end this crisis. Because it is unacceptable for any child to be homeless for even one night, the Georgia Campaign works to increase public awareness of the scope and impact of homelessness on children and families, inform state and local policies and plans to better address the needs of homeless children and families, and improve programs and services to meet the unique needs of homeless children and families. The Georgia Campaign is an initiative of the national Campaign to End Child Homelessness at The National Center on Family Homelessness in partnership with the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness. For more information, visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.
The National Center on Family Homelessness
The National Center on Family Homelessness, founded in 1988, is the leading organization focused solely on ending homelessness for children and families in America. With the power of knowledge and the will to act, we can give every child a chance. For more information, visit www.familyhomelessness.org. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Georgia Alliance To End Homelessness
The Georgia Alliance To End Homelessness, founded in 1989, is the statewide homeless services coordination entity in Georgia.TheGeorgia Alliance is a network committed to fostering strategic initiatives that build a collaborative response to the needs of all homeless persons in Georgia. Collectively, our partners all support the goal: "No One on the Streets Tonight." For more information, visit www.gahomeless.org and find us on Facebook.
