During the 2022-2023 school year, North Carolina public schools reported 35,282 students enrolled in grades PK-12 as experiencing homelessness. The two years prior the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted all aspects of the education system including data collection and reporting across the state and country. National data shows that the decrease during the pandemic was due to the inability to identify and communicate with families during virtual learning, not to reduced rates of homelessness. Homeless liaisons identify homeless children and youth, ensure school access and stability, provide direct services, and coordinate with community agencies to meet basic needs. Their dedication to the work in NC has provided this increase of students to receive the services for which they are eligible under the McKinney-Vento Act.
While the majority of NC students experiencing homelessness live in the more populous regions of the State, both urban and rural regions face unique challenges in identifying and serving the educational needs of these students.
The majority of NC students who are experiencing homelessness are living in doubled-up situations. The doubled-up term is used as a reference to the section of the McKinney-Vento Act that refers to “children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.” Shelters are not available in all areas of NC. They may be full and have stay limits for families, which contributes to the large number of doubled-up identifications. When living in a doubled-up situation the family or youth may be confined to one room or area of the house, live in fear of being kicked out, and feel additional stress due to the overcrowding of the environment. Students experiencing homelessness living in doubled-up situations often lack sufficient sleep and a space to study which leads to them being unable to perform well in school.
Serving NC students who are experiencing homelessness from special populations is a key component of the work of the homeless liaisons. These students may face compounding challenges due to their circumstances.
Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY) are those children and youth who experience homelessness (lack a fixed, regular, and adequate residence) and are unaccompanied (not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian). Approximately 9.1% of the students experiencing homelessness during the 2022-2023 school year were UHY. NC homeless liaisons are conducting targeted outreach to assist in the identification of UHY, which is the first step in ensuring they receive the educational support needed to succeed.
