Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/places-of-heartbreak-places-of-joy-considerations-for-serving-children-experiencing-homelessness/5025314/
*Xavier, 4, is playing pretend. “Time for you to eat,” he says, handing me a rectangular tile. “Here’s your EBT card. Let’s go to Burger King!”
Nationally, one in 19 children under 6 years old experiences homelessness: statistically, that is at least one student in the average American kindergarten (U.S. DOE, 2018; ECS, 2018). Defined as “lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence,” “homeless” can refer to living unsheltered (such as in cars or tents), living “doubled up” with another family, living in a shelter, or living in a motel (McKinney-Vento Act of 2001).
Climate change is leading to higher risks of devastating natural disasters; wealth inequality has priced thousands of families out of housing; and the lack of a strong social safety net leaves an uncertain future for the most vulnerable populations. The fact is that without a coordinated, concentrated, wraparound approach to tackling the factors that lead to homelessness, the number of children that meet this definition could continue to rise.
What, then, can—and should—be expected of early childhood educators? Within our programs, we cannot singlehandedly reverse every trauma or uncertainty for families experiencing homelessness. However, we have a moral responsibility to respect and embrace the cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic differences ...