Closing schools is a luxury kids struggling with homelessness don’t have
Last week I spoke at the Clovis Unified School Board meeting where different options to begin the school year were under consideration. I told the board I wasn’t there on behalf of my five kids but rather the thousands of kids in Fresno County who were struggling with homelessness. My message was simple: kids who are struggling with homelessness only have one option — to be in school.
Everyone coming to us for help at the Fresno Mission has something that is statistically more serious or more life threatening than COVID-19. It’s not that coronavirus isn’t serious. It is. But even among the 1% of the Fresno population that has actually contracted COVID-19, issues of drug addiction, suicide, domestic violence, human trafficking, and all types of abuse are far more likely to cause long-term damage or death.
Kids who are homeless have a statistically higher chance of becoming homeless as adults. COVID-19 just made it worse. Kids who are homeless are already less likely to do well in school. Once a homeless student falls far behind, it is very difficult for them to ever catch up, resulting in higher dropout rates and behavioral issues.
I have faith that local schools will try their very best to provide the best resources they can under difficult circumstances. The problem is that parents who are struggling with homelessness are often dealing with issues that are far greater than you can imagine and ensuring that their kids attend an online Zoom class is nearly impossible. As we have all learned, online education is hard even for parents who aren’t homeless!
Kids struggling with homelessness, who have difficulty with online education, already missed the better part of a semester last year and are looking at potentially losing another semester this year. Closing schools to these kids just digs their hole that much deeper.
But this is not solely about ensuring that kids know Common Core math (which as a parent, I wish would shelter in place permanently). Whether because of food or housing insecurity, abuse, parental addiction, depression and other conditions, the existence of trauma dramatically increases a child’s chances of becoming homeless as an adult. There is a direct correlation. COVID-19 just made all those problems worse. Closing schools takes away a vital resource because it takes away vital relationships.
When life for kids isn’t what it should be, teachers and schools are a crucial part of our system that simply cannot be replicated with a computer screen. Teachers are often first responders to childhood trauma. We at the Mission strive to provide kids healthy, loving environments in very dark times but teachers still have the unique opportunity to spend hours a day with a kid over the better part of a year. The impact of a positive caring relationship, knowing where food is going to come from, and the stability that school provides is the calm when life is more like a storm.
If someone had an infirmity with their body, we would never deprive the person of a doctor. They are essential. Homeless kids have struggles going well beyond the body that are just as serious and detrimental and yet are being deprived of one of the most vital resources to help them. Teachers are essential to them.
Fresno County schools has more than 4,500 homeless kids, more than double the amount of adults sleeping on the street. It is the fastest growing homeless population and it is getting worse. But the truth is that more than just homeless kids need school. It is just as important to all kids living in deep poverty.
I don’t know if it is safe for every kid to be in school. I don’t know if all kids should be in school. I just know that it is unsafe for kids struggling through life to be out of school. My prayer is that if schools cannot be opened for everyone, they can be opened for them.
I am not trying to be downplay the risk teachers have to take. But it is no greater of a risk than the risks my staff takes every day serving people. Some risks however are worth it.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 12:13 PM.