More Than 20,000 Queens Schoolkids Were Homeless Last Year: Study

QUEENS, NY — More than 20,000 Queens public school students were homeless during the 2018-2019 school year, a new report found.

That means roughly seven percent of the borough's 276,000 public school students experienced homelessness last year — living in a shelter or hotel, with friends or relatives or in cars, parks or abandoned buildings.

District 24 had the most homeless students of any Queens school district last year, with more than 5,200 district and charter school students experiencing homelessness, according to a report released Monday by the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York.

That school district stretches from Corona and Elmhurst down to Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood and is largely Hispanic and Latino, according to the district's website.

School district 26 in northeast Queens had the fewest homeless students of any school district in the borough, with just over 1,000, according to the report.

About one in 10 New York City students was identified as homeless in the 2018-2019 school year — enough to fill the Barclays Center arena six times over, according to the report, which is based on New York State Education Department data.

The "stubbornly high" total reflects a more than 70 percent increase in student homelessness over the last decade, even though the school system's homeless population last year shrank by about 600 kids compared to the prior year, the nonprofit says.

"The city won't be able to break the cycle of homelessness until we address the dismal educational outcomes for students who are homeless," Kim Sweet, Advocates for Children's executive director, said in a statement.

A citywide homelessness crisis has kept roughly 60,000 people in shelters each night in recent years. Advocates and officials have blamed the problem on a number of factors including domestic violence and a dearth of affordable housing.

Homelessness can have dire effects on how students' academic performance: Just 57 percent of all homeless students graduate high school, compared to a citywide rate of about 76 percent, according to the nonprofit. The rate is even lower for students living in homeless shelters.

The city Department of Education has placed 100 social workers in schools to help homeless students with mental health and other needs, and another 100 so-called community coordinators work to link up families with help.

"We're committed to serving these students and families by providing the programs and resources they need to have access to a continuous, high-quality education," Department of Education spokesperson Miranda Barbot said.

Officials are also working with the Department of Social Services to place homeless families closer to their kids' schools through Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Turning the Tide" initiative, which includes plans for 90 homeless shelters across the city.

Nearly half of families entering a homeless shelter are in a different borough from where their youngest child attends school, according to Advocates for Children.

Patch editor Noah Manskar contributed reporting.