Rural Youth Homelessness

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Rural Youth Homelessness

• Pennsylvanias Education for Children Youth
  Experiencing Homelessness Program (ECYEH)

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Take a few minutes. . .

• Define the word RURAL
• What does it look like where you live?

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What is rural?

• Communities less than 100,000 people
• Located 100 miles from a major urban area
• Large geographic areas with many scattered small
  towns or communities
• Large areas which are dependent on one industry
  such as agriculture, timber, mining, tourism,
  etc.
• An area that is described as country

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What is Poverty?

• The extent to which an individual or community
  does without resources.
• Generational
• Having been in poverty for two generations or
  longer
• Situational
• Lack of resources due to a particular event
• Death, divorce, college student, etc.

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Poverty

• Poverty is relative
• If everyone around you
• is in a similar situation,
• the notion of poverty or
• wealth is vague.
• Poverty exists only in
• relationship to known
• quantities or expectations.

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Homeless. . .

• What do you think of?

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Rural Homelessness Do we have homeless people
HERE????

• Homelessness is assumed to be an urban problem
• More geographically concentrated
• More visible
• Media depictions
• In the news
• More available research
• Better data

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The Faces of Rural Homelessness
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Did you know?

• Research shows that the odds of being poor are
  between 1.2 to 2.3 times higher for people in
  rural settings when compared to those in
  metropolitan areas.
• One in 5 rural counties is classified as a high
  poverty county in the United States (defined as
  having a poverty rate of 20 or higher), while
  only one in 20 metro counties are defined as high
  poverty. (Fisher, 2005)

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Who is most at risk?

• Primarily agricultural farming communities
• Economy based on declining industries (mining,
  timber, fishing)
• Resort areas attracting new, higher income
  residents driving up the taxes and living
  expenses and eliminating affordable housing, such
  as mobile home parks

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Rural Homelessness the Three Ws

• White
• Working Poor
• Women with Children (Bushy 1991)

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(No Transcript)
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Question for Discussion

• Where are most homeless families located in rural
  areas?

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Doubling up

• Sharing housing of others due to loss of housing,
  economic hardship, or similar reason

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• Doubled Up Is the situation temporary?
• Has the family tried to access other services to
  find housing?
• Do they talk about wanting a place of their own
• Do the children have their own bedrooms?
• Can the family afford other housing, but are
  choosing not to move?

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Not camping

• Trailers, camping grounds, tents

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Not on vacation

• Living in motels, hotels

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Not adequate

• Barns, garages, sheds

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Not regular

• abandoned buildings

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Not fixed

• Cars

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Migrant

• Migratory children living in above circumstances

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Unaccompanied Youth

• Abandoned, throw-away, runaway children not
  living with a parent or legal guardian

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• Substandard Housing?
• No utilities (heat, water, etc.)
• Tarp over roof
• Boards on windows
• Overcrowded
• Dirt Floor
• Holes to outside
• Motel
• Hotel
• Camper
• Tent
• Car

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The Effects of Substandard Housing on Children

• One out of every 3 people living in severely
  substandard housing is a child. These children
  are likely to experience
• Violence
• Hunger
• Injuries
• Burns
• Infectious Diseases
• Asthma
• Lead Poisoning
• Foster Care Placement
• Falling Behind in School
• Dropping out of School
• From Housing Arkansas Benefits of a State
  Housing Trust Fund - 2010

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Rural Vs. Urban

• Rural
• Living in cars, parks, campgrounds, barns, tents,
  hunting cabins run down homes often without
  running water or heat, windows are gone, roof
  covered with tarps often doubled-up with other
  families
• Stable populations (do not move as frequently)
• More families identified
• Homeless is a hidden issue people are under a
  roof
• Less likely to accept or seek our services
• Fewer resources available

• Urban
• More people living in shelters and transitional
  housing. Doubled-up families are rarely IDd.
• Transient populations (families will move in and
  out of locations)
• More single adults identified
• Homelessness is a more visible issue people
  sometimes on the streets
• Open to often seeking services
• More resources and funding available

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Question for Discussion

• Discuss potential challenges faced by those
  experiencing homelessness in rural settings.

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Challenges for Rural Communities

• Sense of isolation
• Fewer dollars when funding decisions are based on
  population Fewer available services
• Less public awareness due to invisibility of
  homeless
• Local attitudes Denial and blame
• Less existing research about what works in rural
  areas
• Walkability and Public Transportation
• Parents Concerted Cultivation
• Homework
• Music lessons, dance lessons, etc.
• Sports
• Extracurricular activities
• Parent involvement

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Question for Discussion

• Discuss potential strengths of those experiencing
  homelessness in rural settings.

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Strengths

• Multi-service mainstream agencies one stop
  shopping
• Involved and supportive church communities
• Extended family support
• Resiliency
• Take Care of Our Own

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Rural Homelessnessthe causes

• Pervasive poverty multi-generational poverty
• Norm of substandard housing
• Fewer rental options (older housing stock, lack
  of affordable housing rental assistance)
• Nonexistent or shrinking mental health and drug
  and alcohol services
• Local employment patterns (low-paid, part-time,
  and temporary employment)
• Transportation issues as barriers to employment
  and services
• Federal homeless definitions that have favored
  homeless in larger metropolitan areas

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Issues for Rural Schools

• Individual Heroes Limitations?
• Ill-defined Practices No real system in place
• Awareness
• How did you find out about services?
• My cousin told me
• By the grace of God
• I dont even know
• I just kept calling people
• I dont even remember
• Limited Resources Everyone is competing

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Question for Discussion

• Describe the characteristics of the best
  organization you have ever experienced.

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Organizations

• Research shows that the U.S. is the most
  organization-centric country in the world
• Good organizations have the following
• Clear mission
• Foster relationships
• Collaboration
• Produce positive outcomes
• Monitor progress
• Adapt to change

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Network Orientation

• Limit Hero Model
• Connect within AND beyond school
• Move from service provision (giving things) to
  brokering
• Ex Morris Small, Book Unanticipated Gains
• Good Child Care Centers what is expected, but
  also got. . .
• Connection to other individuals, other
  organizations, leading to other resources that
  they contain
• Building Natural Supports

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Innovation

• Thinking Outside of the Box
• Look at when your district IDs students
  experiencing homelessness. Only start of school
  year?
• Ask families Where do you go for help? What
  names come up the most? Who are they?
• Connect to wider school district missions when
  educating co-workers
• Tell story broadly to diverse people
• Use data strategically
• Train regularly

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Interest Convergence

• Leads to Change
• Moral social justice? Or best interest of the
  district?
• Why is student homelessness in your district
  worthy of attention?
• Administration
• Teachers
• Parents
• Community

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Student homelessness hurts all students
Fantuzzo, et al

• What is your districts systematic processes?
• Policy RE Substandard Housing?
• Transportation Policy?
• Data Sharing?
• Collaborations in the community?
• Who are your stakeholders?

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Strategies for Identification

• Providing education and training to key support
  staff with districts
• Building secretaries
• Guidance Counselors
• Principals
• Nurses
• Bus Drivers
• Home School Visitors
• Behavioral Support Staff

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Strategies, continued. . .

• Add content to registration AND withdrawal forms
  that would flag potentially homeless families.
• Check lists of potential living situations
• Know addresses of shelter, churches, safe
  houses, campgrounds, hotels/motels
• Avoid the word homeless
• Follow up with interview

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Sample Questionnaire

• Section A In what type of setting is the
  student living now?
• In an emergency or transitional shelter (formal
  or informal)
• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss
  of other adequate accommodations
• In a motel, hotel, church, campsite, cabin, barn
  or car
• In a park, public campgrounds, public space,
  abandoned building or similar setting
• In substandard housing (example no heat, tarp
  over the roof, no running water, windows boarded
  up)
• Other places not ordinarily used as regular
  housing for humans
• I am a young person living without parent or
  guardian
• Continue to Question 2 if you checked any box in
  Section A. . .

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Strategies, continued. . .

• Establish relationships with outside entities
• Churches
• Social Service Agencies
• Foster Care Providers
• Shelters
• Fire Department
• Police
• Red Cross
• Salvation Army
• Hotel/Motel owners
• Food Pantries
• Campground owners

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Strategies, continued. . .

• Focus training on teaching staff to assist with
  identification of existing homeless students
• If district has multi-district classrooms,
  educate those staff as well
• Provide in-service to Vo-Tech and Alternative
  Education staff that serve your district
• Display information related to educational rights
  in key places and in basic language
• Educate families and parents within district

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Strategies, continued. . .

• Build on community spirit Rural families often
  will take in students and help provide for them
  staff and other students provide rides and other
  assistance.
• Build on the small town mentality We take care
  of our own.

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Case Study 1

• John comes to school with the same unwashed
  clothing on every day. When the teacher asks him
  about it, he says that his home does not have
  running water. The home-school visitor stops by
  and reports to you that the family lives in a
  cabin with dirt floors and an outhouse. There is
  a wood stove that heats the home, but the current
  water pump system is broken. The home was built
  by Johns grandfather and they have never lived
  anywhere else.
• Is John homeless?
• What would you do to provide assistance?
• What are issues you need to think about when
  talking with this family?

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Case Study 2

• Cheyenne and her boyfriend are living in a mobile
  home with his parents. She is 18 and says she
  left home because her mother was cooking meth.
  The mobile home is in a neighboring district
  almost an hour away, but Cheyenne is a senior and
  wants to graduate from her school of origin.
• Is Cheyenne homeless?
• What assistance would you provide?
• What questions would you ask to make this
  determination?

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Case Study 3

• Colby (age 18) and Case (age 15) are brothers who
  are both enrolled at your school. Their mothers
  new boyfriend does not get along with them and
  they decided to move into their sisters barn.
  They have a space heater and mattresses on the
  floor. She allows them to shower in her house,
  but her husband doesnt like them eating the
  family food.
• Are they homeless?
• What assistance would you provide?
• What other issues should you consider?

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Case Study 4

• Dakota is a 6 year old who is brought in to your
  district by his parents for enrollment. They
  live in a camper that is parked in a neighboring
  district. When you explain that they have to
  enroll there, the father becomes belligerent.
  The next day, the camper is parked in the school
  parking lot and the father is waiting in the
  office.
• Is Dakota homeless?
• Which district does he have the right to attend?
• What would you do?

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Case Study 5

• LaMar (age 8) and LaTonya (age 9) are brother and
  sister. They currently stay in a small
  family-owned hotel with their grandmother, where
  she does the cleaning in exchange for a room.
  She does not have legal custody, but is caring
  for the children while the mother is
  incarcerated. Both children have special needs
  and were in special education, but cant remember
  the name of their last school, because the mother
  homeschooled them for the past several years.
  Grandmother has brought them in to enroll in your
  district.
• Are they homeless?
• What things do you need to consider in this
  scenario?
• What assistance would you provide?

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References

• 2010. Rural Poverty in America. Wayne Flint.
  National Forum FindArticles.com.
• 2008. January Research Matters.   Housing
  Vouchers are Critical for Ending Family
  Homelessness.  National Alliance to End
  Homelessness, Homelessness Research Institute.
• 2005.  Hunger Report.  Strengthening Rural
  Communities.  Center for Rural Affairs. 
• 2008. Rural Homeless Initiative of Southeast and
  Central Ohio  A National Model for Planning to
  End Homelessness.    National Alliance to End
  Homelessness.  
• 2002. Continua of Care Best Practices 
  Comprehensive Homeless Planning in Rurik
  America.  Housing Assistance Council. 
• 2006.  Homelessness in Rural America  Policy and
  Practice.  Paul Rollinson and John Pardeck. 
  Haworth Press. 
• 1996. Out of Sight out of Mind  Homeless
  Children and Families in Small Town America. 
  Yvonne M. Vissing.  University Press of America. 
  

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For Assistance Contact

• Wendy Kinnear
• Regional Coordinator, Region 5
• Pennsylvanias Education for Children Youth
  Experiencing Homelessness Program (ECYEH)
  Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV
• 453 Maple Street
• Grove City, PA 16127
• 724.458.6700 X 1289
• Fax [phone]
• wendy.kinnear_at_miu4.org