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
Fact Sheet: Aid to Children During Coronavirus Outbreak
Averi Pakulis, Bruce Lesley, Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Drew Aherne, Michelle Dallafior | April 2, 2020 |
As the spread of the coronavirus has grown, the vulnerabilities within our system have become clear. Children and families living in poverty already lack …
Make Sure Every Child Is Counted Today
Cara Baldari | April 1, 2020 |
On April 1, tell people to count all children at their address who have no permanent residence. As the spread of the Coronavirus has …
Coronavirus confirms why we need a national commitment to address child poverty and homelessness in the United States
Cara Baldari, Michelle Dallafior | March 13, 2020 |
There is real momentum towards addressing the high rate of child poverty in the United States and the Coronavirus outbreak has only served to …
Fact Sheet: Impact of the President’s 2021 Budget on Housing
Cara Baldari | March 2, 2020 |
On February 10th, President Trump presented his budget request for fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to Congress, outlining his spending priorities for the coming year. …
What does the President’s budget say about how we value children?
Tim Smith | February 11, 2020 |
Yesterday, President Trump released a $4.8 trillion budget proposal that would impose massive cuts to critical programs that children and families rely on every …
Statement: First Focus on Children’s Response to President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget
Michele Kayal | February 10, 2020 |
The proposed budget released today by President Trump takes direct aim at the health and well-being of America’s children. According to the FY 2021 …
Fact Sheet: The Public Charge Rule Harms Children (Updated)
Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Jonny Yao (Former Staff), Kristen Torres, Rachel Merker (Former Staff) | February 6, 2020 |
The strength of our country’s economic future is dependent on the wellbeing of our children, who make up our future workforce and tax base. …
Oversight Committee holds two days of hearings on four threats to America’s children
Michele Kayal, Tim Smith | February 5, 2020 |
On February 5 and 6, 2020, the Committee on Oversight and Reform conducted an in-depth, two-day series of hearings held by four of its …
House hearings tackle regulatory threats to children and families
Michele Kayal | February 3, 2020 |
Advocates blast policies that harm children WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3 — A broad coalition of nonprofit and faith-based groups from across the nation that …
‘Invisibilizing’ Homeless Children
Bruce Lesley | January 29, 2020 |
Childhood should be a time to grow, learn, play and feel safe. As Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City writes: …