Back-to-School Secret: Middle-Class Homeless Students

Back-to-school time this year has many newly made homeless children involved. Currently, there is a negative trend of employed parents who are losing their homes when paychecks cannot support minimum lifestyle needs in our out-of-control economy. Going back to school homeless does not necessarily mean that the working parents are receiving government services. For these children going back to school is harder to accomplish while attempting to hide their bleak economic situations away from gossips.

During the beginning of the Great Depression, people were losing their homes in the same manner as today. With a smaller society, when a family lost their home, other members of the community would take the family in until other arrangements could be made. Unfortunately, today we don't know our neighbors so that we are not taking an active part in attempting to help these back to school aged children who are suffering through these hardships.

New homeless back-to-school problem:

Many of our newly made working homeless are from middle-class America with problems relating to long-time jobs leaving the country, and the cost of living not being met through lower paying job replacements. Middle-class people with back to school aged children living in cars, or on the streets, often go to great lengths not to become involved with services for fear of losing their children, for safety reasons, and due to their belief that their situation is only temporary.

Homeless statistics are only counted from those using services; some estimate that the United States may now have up to 4 million people without a home in the United States today. Many of the children involved are school aged children going back to school with orders from their parents not to tell anybody about where they sleeping at night. In most communities the act of sleeping in a vehicle is an illegal activity that can't be discussed.

With so many children being told by parents not to tell anybody at school about their living situations, it is time for both teachers and students to change their old belief's that homelessness is synonymous with dirt, drugs, laziness, or alcohol problems and realize that we have a segmentation of middle-class working America now sending their children back to school quietly on a borrowed address.

Americans everywhere need to be aware of this situation as they send their children back to the classroom. The homeless children going back to school are not always going to be dressed in rags because their parents are working; homelessness is no longer something that you can identify by a child's behavior, shelter address, or belongings in the possession of the child. Middle-class children lose homes with their middle-class manners and clothing going with them.

While our economy is so bad, continued home foreclosures and business bankruptcy's can be expected. Many more middle-class children with working parents will be attending school by day without educators being aware that they are homeless. For parents who have a little extra money, please send some extra back to school class supplies to your teacher for use by those who forgot to bring their own supplies. It's the right thing to do.