At least 200 children attending Trenton’s schools are homeless. The official count presented this week to the school district’s board includes 20 children in preschool; 125 pupils in elementary schools; 34 middle-schoolers; and 25 high school students.
By now, we should be aware that homelessness exists throughout the region, yet those statistics are shocking.
And officials believe the number may be much higher because some homeless families fear divulging their immigration status. Others may be afraid of losing custody of their children. And, according to national studies, about a fifth of the children who are homeless don’t attend school regularly.
Imagine the stresses of middle school and high school, the uncertainties of elementary school, compounded by the adult-size problem of homelessness.
And some teens, who have been thrown out or left their homes, are taking on the whole of that exhausting burden.
Times Staff Writer Erin Duffy reported this week on the eye-opening presentation requested by Sasa Olessi Montaño, school board vice president.
The district already offers supplemental services for homeless students, including after-school tutoring, weekly art classes and other recreational programs, thanks to federal grants. And the district shares the services of a liaison on homelessness with Burlington and Atlantic counties.
It also contracts with the Lawrence nonprofit HomeFront to provide emergency and transitional housing, rent assistance, food, clothes and other supplies and services to homeless families.
But board members want the district to be more proactive, Duffy reported, in guiding families and students suddenly homeless or in danger of losing their home to those essential services.
School board President Toby Sanders said he’s been contacted by confused parents and students on the brink of homelessness who did not get a response from school staff they asked for help.
The district must do more to provide hands-on attention, he says, than simply handing out a phone number for HomeFront or other agencies and making a quick referral.
Mercer County has a strong network of services and help for the homeless. But without access to a computer or a social worker or an empathetic ear, some families may not know where to turn in the blur of events leading to loss of their home.
Even the best safety net has holes, and the Trenton school officials are right to investigate ways of reinforcing the district’s response to this issue and strengthening that net.