1 in 8 Children Students in NYC Are Homeless As Amount of Vulnerable Population Continues To Grow

The number of homeless students in New York City continues to rise, reaching a new record during the 2023-24 academic year, according to new data.

A new analysis published Monday by the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York found that 146,000 public school students were homeless during the 2023-24 school year, a 22% increase from the year prior. That figure indicates that 1 in 8 students across the system were homeless, a count that includes children who lived in shelters or were doubled up in apartments with other families, Gothamist reported.

"These numbers are staggering," said Christine Quinn, the chief executive of Win, the city's largest operator of homeless shelters. "They are, quite frankly, an indictment of all parts of our city that this many children are living in shelters."

The new figures are also a continuation of an already staggering trend in the city. The amount of homeless students in the City has topped 100,000 for nine straight years, according to The New York Times. The numbers have remained high amid a continuing housing crisis, with few apartments available and affordable options hard to find.

At the same time, the city has been dealing with an ongoing and unprecedented migrant crisis. Over 210,000 migrants have come to New York City since 2022, most from Latin America and others from Africa and Asia, according to The Times. However, Quinn says the culprit of this issue is much more complicated.

"They're going to write this off as a migrant problem, and it's not," she said, referring to city officials. She added, "to write it off really downplays the situation in a way that is both incorrect and dangerous."

The new data also shows that the number of children in transitional housing increased in every school district across the city, but the problem was especially concentrated in Upper Manhattan, the southwest Bronx, and parts of northeast and central Brooklyn, Gothamist reported

"It is unconscionable that year after year tens of thousands of students in this city don't have a permanent home," said Jennifer Pringle, a project director at Advocates for Children. "While the city works to help families find permanent housing it must also focus more attention on helping students succeed in school. School can be the key to breaking the cycle of homelessness."

The nonprofit also explains that children who experience homelessness also face educational obstacles. They say that students who bounce between shelters and temporary homes are more likely to be chronically absent, struggle academically and drop out of school.

Children of color are also disproportionately affected by homelessness, according to The New York Times. 94% of students living in shelters identify as Black or Hispanic and 35% speak a first language other than English.

Amid these figures, the Department of Education highlighted its efforts to help students in these current conditions.

A spokeswoman for the city's Department of Education said in a statement that homeless students were a "continued priority."

"Every student deserves a high-quality education," the statement said. "To support the whole child, we have long established many critical supports to help students and families in temporary housing."

Those efforts, the spokesperson said, include "transportation and access to counseling as well as access to food, clothing and hygiene supplies."