Housing & Homelessness
More than one million K-12 students in America are homeless today. Whether that means sleeping in a shelter or crashing on a family friend’s couch, homelessness has disastrous consequences for every aspect of a child’s life – health, nutrition, education. In fact, every time a child is forced to move, it has the same impact on educational progress as missing a month of school. But federal agencies don’t even have a uniform definition of “homeless” for children. First Focus advocates an honest assessment of the family homelessness problem in America and a renewed federal commitment to ensure that no American spends his or her childhood homeless.
Resources
Let’s ensure no child in the U.S. goes hungry and that every child has a safe and stable place to live
Cara Baldari, Olivia Gomez (Former Staff), First Focus Campaign for Children | November 15, 2022 |
This week marks Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, a time for action toward the goal of ensuring that no child in the U.S. goes …
Comment on proposed changes to the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey
| May 18, 2022 |
First Focus on Children submitted the following comment to the Office of Management and Budget to stress the need for long-term access to frequent …
Watch: A Conversation on Child & Youth Homelessness
Cara Baldari | March 24, 2022 |
Child and youth homelessness has been on the rise even before the pandemic. Pre-COVID, an estimated 1-in-41 school-age children were homeless, while young children — those under …
What’s at stake for kids if Congress doesn’t pass Build Back Better
Aubrey Edwards-Luce, Averi Pakulis, Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald (Former Staff), Conor Sasner (Former Staff), Elaine Dalpiaz, Haley Winter, Kathy Sacco, Michelle Dallafior, Miriam Abaya, Olivia Gomez (Former Staff), First Focus Campaign for Children | December 22, 2021 |
As negotiations have stalled and the fate of the Build Back Better Act hangs in the balance, children stand to lose access to monthly …
What Congress can do about hunger & homelessness this holiday season
Cara Baldari, Olivia Gomez (Former Staff), First Focus Campaign for Children | November 22, 2021 |
Heading into Thanksgiving, the negative economic reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be strongest for families with children who were already struggling to …
Fact Sheet: LIFT the BAR Act
Aileen Wang, First Focus Campaign for Children, Madalyn News | September 8, 2021 |
Children of immigrants and immigrant children make up one-quarter of all U.S. kids and represent the fastest growing group of children in America. Despite …
Biden & Congress must support the nearly 4 million families with children facing housing instability
Cara Baldari, First Focus Campaign for Children, Micaela McConnell | July 22, 2021 |
Housing should be a fundamental right for all children and families in the United States — not a privilege. Yet, the economic and public …
Letter: The first — and next — 100 days
Bruce Lesley | May 4, 2021 |
First Focus on Children sent the following letter to President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris congratulating them on the achievements of their …
Fact Sheet: The REAL impact of COVID-19 on kids
| April 22, 2021 |
Way back at the beginning of this pandemic, a narrative took hold that kids are not affected. Now, more than a year in, it …
Statement: Rule change gives 55,000 children a lifeline
Michele Kayal | April 9, 2021 |
The Biden Administration has withdrawn a Trump-era rule that would have forced 25,000 mixed-status immigrant families from their homes, including 55,000 children. Bruce Lesley, president …