Syracuse has one of the highest rates of student homelessness in New York state. To discuss what Syracuse city and schools are doing to support students facing homelessness is Mithila Hasan, director of runaway and homeless youth shelter Booth House.

 

AVA PORTNEY, HOST: What is the current state of student homelessness in Syracuse?

 

MITHILA HASAN: There is roughly about 1,280 students that are defined as homeless. Homelessness is defined by the McKinney-Vento Act as a lack of a fixed regular or adequate residence.

 

PORTNEY: How important is stable housing for a student?

 

HASAN: Well, stable housing, as you can imagine, is very important. It is a basic need. When kids have to worry about a basic need, it really leads to other issues such as losing focus in school, which is, you know, a big one. They’re worried about whether they’re going to have a roof over their head. It takes away from their focus, their concentration. It can lead to behavioral issues in school. It can lead to criminal activity as well. A lot of times when kids - we see kids that are struggling with homelessness, oftentimes they will have robbery charges. Some of them are related to them trying to meet their basic needs. Those are some of the issues that can stem from kids not having their basic needs met.

 

PORTNEY: What does the Booth House and other city resources do to help support these children?

 

HASAN: We’re a runaway youth shelter for kids between the ages of 12 and 17. On a very basic level we provide shelter so that kids don’t find themselves in the street. A lot of kids when they’re facing homelessness situations can get trafficked. We like to educate the community on the fact that there is a safe space for kids if they’re facing homelessness, so that they can come here and receive shelter. Also while they’re receiving shelter they get their basic needs met. We have a donation office - it’s mainly supplied by Rise Above Poverty which is another nonprofit organization that tries to help and supply basic needs to kids in school. They really go out of their way to try and provide Booth House with needs that the kids coming into our program may have. Outside of that, the community as a whole really supports kids who are struggling. A lot of churches will do fundraising for Booth House and get new undergarments and socks. We try and provide advocacy with schools and jobs. We work with CNY Works to see which of our kids can be employed. Because we are a temporary shelter, we do focus on reunification when possible. A lot of our work is working with the guardians and the youth, and when guardians aren’t a sustainable housing option, we usually work with Child Protective Services or the guardian to find alternative housing for youth.

 

PORTNEY: What can schools and Syracuse city do to better support children facing homelessness?

 

HASAN: Well, I say the community as a whole has come a long way. I’ve been in this field for over 20 years and I’ve seen a lot of progression with this. There are school-based programs now. One is called The Promise Zone, and this is like a multi-tiered school-based program that’s not specific to homelessness but improves it - where a worker will work with a family and the youth for engagement to meet basic needs, helping youth with their socialization skills in school. A lot of schools are now going to trade schools that primarily is to have kids job-ready which helps poverty rates and helps homelessness. So I think there are several different things that have come into play that support kids in homelessness.