Homeless Students Join the Rising Ranks of ‘New Poor’

Editor’s Note: This is part of a special report that looks at the growing number of homeless students in the Sumner School District. Today, we look at what resources are available for needy students during summer break (read that article here), and how the economy has changed the definition of homelessness. Previously, we looked at the financial impact on the district of getting children to classes (read that article ), in addition to the psychological effect homelessness has on children (read that article ). Patch partnered with InvestigateWest for this report.

In the two years after the economic collapse, a pattern began to emerge within the . Families were fleeing the Plateau in search of better job opportunities and more affordable housing elsewhere. Some district families saw foreclosures on homes worth more than $500,000.

Those who stayed have struggled.

“There are a number of people who have to transition out of a certain lifestyle and they don’t really know how to access any of our resources,” said Molly Megerth, homeless-student coordinator for the Sumner School District. “They are the ‘new poor.’”

After Christmas 2009, 46 students withdrew from Emerald Hills Elementary, about 10.8 percent of that school population. Districtwide, 67 students dropped out that year, according to Ann Cook, district communications spokesperson.

“Families were starting to move out of the area and reported to us that there was no affordable housing,” said Marilee Hill-Anderson, director of the STARR Project for the Sumner School District. (STARR stands for Sumner Tobacco and Alcohol Risk Reduction). “For almost every one of those students, their families reported that cost of living was too high.”

While the demand for family resources wasn’t as extreme this year as during the last two, it might just represent a demographic shift.

“Those who decided to stay, have stayed. In the first couple years after the economy bottomed out there was a scramble, but [today’s families] have learned to live with nothing,” said Megerth. “They are learning how to adapt. I really think people are asking for different things at the Family Center now than they were two years ago.”

For those who stayed, the biggest challenges are the most basic–running water and electricity. It’s caused a lot of doubling up–it’s not unheard of for a district student to share a three-bedroom home with 20 other people, said Megerth.

A large component of the Sumner Family Center is helping families navigate the paperwork from the electric companies, to keep water on and electricity running. High reinstallation and penalty fees have kept some district families without running water or electricity for more than two years, said Hill-Anderson.

Dealing with student poverty is difficult when it comes to hygiene, said Megerth. Oftentimes, it can be the first indication of problems at home.

“A lot of these kids fly under the radar when they’re at school, but because of their living situation, they don’t have clean clothes,” said Megerth.

Once the need is established, the district is quick to act, setting the student up with Megerth and other student coordinators and counselors. Students can take showers at school, use resources like Lions 4 Kids House, participate in free and reduced-price lunch or receive personalized transportation through the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees them transportation to their original school.

But the district’s hardest task is identifying those in need.

“The biggest struggle in identifying homeless students? They just don’t cough up that information,” said Megerth. "Especially the older kids. They are afraid to say anything that might jeopardize their situation.”