Housing & Homelessness

More than one million K-12 students in America are homeless today. Whether that means sleeping in a shelter or crashing on a family friend’s couch, homelessness has disastrous consequences for every aspect of a child’s life – health, nutrition, education. In fact, every time a child is forced to move, it has the same impact on educational progress as missing a month of school. But federal agencies don’t even have a uniform definition of “homeless” for children. First Focus advocates an honest assessment of the family homelessness problem in America and a renewed federal commitment to ensure that no American spends his or her childhood homeless.

Resources


Letter: Correct the Inequities in COVID-19 Response

| April 20, 2020 |

First Focus Campaign for Children sent the following letter to Congressional leaders in both houses with a set of recommendations to address the needs


Kids & COVID-19: Resource Hub

| April 16, 2020 |

The impact on children from COVID-19 is immense. It is also variable and complicated. Every facet of the lives of children and families are


Statement: Senate package good first step for kids but children need more robust measures

| March 26, 2020 |

We commend Senate lawmakers’ unanimous passage of the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency bill, and even more, for using it to offer relief to America’s


Letter: Prioritize the well-being of children as you respond to the Coronavirus outbreak.

| March 20, 2020 |

First Focus Campaign for Children sent the following letter to Congressional leaders in both houses, urging them to prioritize the well-being of children in


Statement: Congress’s coronavirus response is a good first step, but bigger, bolder measures are needed

| March 18, 2020 |

We applaud Congress for passing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, providing families and children with increased food and nutrition assistance, supplemental state funding


First Focus Campaign for Children identifies 120 lawmakers who prioritize children

| March 12, 2020 |

In 2019, nearly one-in-six of our nation’s children lived in poverty. The number of kids without health insurance rose to more than 4 million,


Letter: Children should not be treated as an afterthought — pass these bipartisan and common sense bills

| January 10, 2020 |

First Focus Campaign for Children sent the following letter to all 100 U.S. Senators, urging them to consider legislation that would improve the lives


New HUD Homeless Data Grossly Undercounts Children and Youth

| January 8, 2020 |

Decline in rate misleading and Fast Facts about children, youth and homelessness Government data released yesterday grossly undercount homeless children, youth and families, and


Letter: Our Support for the Housing for Homeless Students Act

| May 9, 2019 |

On March 13th, 2019, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Robert Portman (R-OH) and Angus King (I-ME) reintroduced the Housing for Homeless Students Act (S. 767).


HUD Homeless Data Don’t Add Up: Children and Youth Pay the Price

| December 17, 2018 |

Public Schools Report Highest Number of Homeless Students on Record, While HUD Claims Reduction in Family and Youth Homelessness Washington, DC – Data released today