If Babies Could Talk…
What millions would say might shock you!
Few listen to babies besides those charged with their care. Giggles and screeches emitted by these little ones mean something, but sometimes that’s hard to figure out. A multitude of infants want you to hear a special message, which I’ll translate: take care of the Little Ones without homes!
Baby/toddler homelessness doesn’t get much attention at all. And even fewer resources. They, along with their caretakers (parents, guardians), end up in a variety of homeless situations, the most common being doubled up, staying with others (often an irregular, uncertain rotation of family, friends, and strangers). I’ve encountered them in motels, cars, shelters, and tents. (Watch my 3-min video, Littlest Nomads for a peek at this issue.)
Because they’re little and their caretakers are otherwise occupied with survival, these little ones haven’t managed to garner the attention they need to get leaders to address their housing and other basic needs. With the pandemic’s brutal eviction aftermath, even more babies are hitting the streets, and it’s significantly worse for babies of color.
“All children, and especially the youngest, account for a disproportionate share of those threatened with eviction…” (NYT, 10/2/23)
Lest this seem like no big deal, a reminder:
Between birth and age three, a child’s brain is developing at a rate of one million neural connections per second. Tragically, an increasing number of infants and toddlers go through this crucial developmental period without a home — an experience that jeopardizes their health, development, and future. (SchoolHouse Connection)
My esteemed colleagues and I pointed out that:
The developmental risk factors that these children commonly experience include inadequate prenatal care, crowded and unsafe living circumstances, transience and disrupted family routines, food insecurity, poor nutrition, and lack of access to preventive healthcare (Nilan, D., Rapp, N. G., & Haskett, M. E. (2023). Family homelessness: The dilemma of invisible families. In R. Denby-Brinson & C. Ingram (Eds), Compendium of policy and practice: Approaches to child and family protection. Vol. 2. Washington DC: CWLA Press.).
Just the facts, ma’am…
The good folks at the Eviction Lab at Princeton created an impressive poverty PowerPoint (available free) to document how evictions are uprooting children, evidently unbeknownst to decision makers.
If you’d like to see how your state does with evictions of infants and toddlers, here’s a new report from SchoolHouse Connections. It’s not a pretty picture. But it’s one we need to push to the top of our nation’s priority list (above the ban TikTok hoopla). Why? Because these little ones undergo a heap of hard times when they’re evicted that causes them a lifetime of hurt.
This article describes the mental health of young children experiencing homelessness, and the authors point out a major shortfall in the study of child homelessness:
Given the adversity faced by children who experience homelessness, it follows that homelessness in early childhood is associated with developmental delays (Haskett, Armstrong, & Tisdale, 2015), mental health challenges and emotion dysregulation (Herbers et al., 2014), and poor physical health (Cutts et al., 2011).
Most people don’t know:
The majority of studies conducted to gain understanding of families and young children experiencing homelessness are carried out in shelters or supportive/transitional housing, but most children experiencing homelessness are not living in those settings. Many communities across the country do not even have those resources available. Instead, approximately 75% of children who experience homelessness live temporarily in doubled-up situations with other families.
Lest you think that these little babies and their families experiencing homelessness are getting the help they need, think again.
In my new state of North Carolina, here’s how they fare.
Let me suggest a few things you can do:
- It’s likely that shelters, food pantries, etc., have desperate need for disposable diapers, baby hygiene items and formula. Doing a community drive for these items is a win+win. Besides essential supplies getting to families, you raise awareness of families with babies/toddlers.
- Become informed! Read the entire SchoolHouse Connection report about homelessness and babies. Share the info to your circle.
- Take a look at this article that digs into the impact of evictions on Black families with small children. Becoming informed is a great first step. Channeling your dismay into action can happen in many ways. You’re a voter, right? How do your candidates stack up on these issues? It matters.
- For other suggestions, check out “The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids.”
There! Now I can get back to working on our new project, an incredible book, The Three Melissas’ Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness (Making Bad a Little Better).
I welcome any interested readers. (Sign up to follow my Medium posts or friend me on FaceBook to keep up with our efforts.)
