By Tom Braun, Reuters, 12/23/11 – The National Center on Family Homelessness reported that 1.6 million children were homeless –that is living on the streets of the United States last year or in shelters, motels and doubled-up with other families. This number represents an increase of 38% in child homelessness since 2007, mostly due to the U.S. recession and an increase in the number of extremely poor households headed by women. Indeed, recent census data showed that 48% of Americans are living in poverty or on incomes below $24,343 per year.

Child homelessness is a relatively new social problem in the US, where homelessness was associated with adults, stigma and alcohol and drug dependency issues. Touray, a mother from Miami, survives on just $583 a month in child support. "You get treated like an animal because you're homeless," said Touray, whose four small businesses in Atlanta went bust due to the recession. Tracy and Elizabeth Burger are an example of the shrinking middle class. While they once earned nearly $100,000 a year combined, they saw their life style dissipate when Tracy lost his job. Unable to pay rent, they had to move and eventually live at Elizabeth’s mother’s garage in LA.

Across the U.S., homeless families share the economic devastation from the recession, but they also share hope. Luis, a single father from LA lives with his three children at the Union Rescue Mission. He ended up homeless after a job back injury. "I mean, I'm homeless but not hopeless," Martinez said. In central Florida, Justin, 15, said he was not surprised when he, his parents and three younger siblings landed in a downtown Orlando shelter last September, after bouncing from one relative’s home to another. Justin is taking eighth grade honors classes now and homelessness will not keep him from pursuing his dream career in video game production "It will get better for me and my family," he said. "I'll be making billions, I know that."

Antonio Dixon, 26, knows all about things getting better. He bounced between a dozen homeless shelters growing up in Miami and Atlanta. He eventually won a football scholarship at the University of Miami and fought dyslexia to become the first person in his family to graduate college. He has since gone on to play defensive tackle for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, achieving his boyhood dream. His advice to homeless kids is to stay in school and get focused on whatever it is they really want to do in life. "Just keep on doing something you like and don't give up," Dixon said. “You just got to go and get it. You can't be afraid to take a chance on life."

Bassuk, a Harvard Medical School professor, said medical problems and under-achievement in school are common among homeless children. "These are kids who don't have any opportunities," she said. "If you look at some of the educational variables, they're doing really poorly. And they're kids who can do OK. They just don't have appropriate support. "It just seems that on every front this is a very vulnerable group of kids," she said.

Courtesy of Reuters

Original Article: Another face of the U.S. recession: homeless children

Link: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/23/uk-usa-homeless-idUKTRE7BM1DK20111223