School districts reported 23,000 homeless kids in grades K-12, for last year’s school year. But keep in mind, those were only the kids who actually showed up to school and who identified as homeless.
Lot’s of young people don’t want to admit they're homeless to an adult, or they don’t consider themselves homeless if they sleep on a friend’s couch for months at a time.
Shereen Tabrizi is with the Michigan Department of Education. She says it’s tough to get an accurate count of homeless kids. “I am sure there are families that are not counted or identified. This is one of the big challenges.”
Tabrizi says the best way to deal with the growing number of homeless kids is for all kinds of agencies and organizations to collaborate. She wants to see local, state, and federal agencies work together, along with faith-based organizations.
Here's more information about homeless youth, from the Department of Education.
