The City Council discussed concerns that they have more homeless living in hotels than any other city in the state. The two boards will discuss the problem with state representatives in a meeting soon.
CHICOPEE – The number of homeless children in city schools is increasing, creating concerns about everything from the well-being of the youth and the increasing costs of transportation.
The School Committee held a meeting about homeless children one day after the City Council aired concerns that the city has the highest number of homeless people housed in hotels in the state. The two are expected to meet with state representatives and city officials in the future.
This year the city has 211 homeless students spread across 15 schools. Because homeless children are so transient, numbers change constantly and are expected to rise, said Assistant Superintendent Alvin W. Morton.
The totals have remained relatively steady over the past four years. During the previous school year, there were 213 homeless students. In 2011-2012, there were 229 students; and in 2010-2011, there were 215 students, he said.
“We have a lot of kids who come with a lot of situations. We work with health and human services agencies to help them,” he said.
The schools received a grant to send children to special programs at The Arbors for winter break, spring break and on some Saturdays, especially when there is a long weekend, Morton said.
“It is really a difficult life they are living, and we try to make it as pleasant as possible,” said Cindy Rodolakis, the homeless liaison for the schools.
Children who are homeless are also enrolled in after-school programs that typically combine fun activities with homework help. They stay until 5 p.m., she said.
Parents often have no transportation and can only cook with a microwave. If children are not enrolled in programs, they have little else to do but watch television, she said.
“This is a terrible environment. There has to be something we can do,” School Committee member David Barsalou said.
There are five categories of homeless children with the majority, or 127, living in hotels. The remaining are 27 children living in foster care, 21 doubled up with other families, three living in shelters and one teenager living on his own, Rodolakis said.
One of the most difficult and expensive things is dealing with transportation. Federal law requires communities to bus children to the school they attended when they became homeless if it is within a reasonable distance. The costs are split between the community where the child is living and the community where they attend school; they are not funded by the federal government, he said.
“When placing families, why not place children closer?” Morton said. It is frustrating because Chicopee children can be placed in Holyoke while homeless children from Holyoke are placed here.
Last year it cost $433,227 to bus homeless children. The previous year it cost $466,282, and 95 percent of that money was reimbursed this year by the state. Morton said he hopes the reimbursements will continue.
Still, the largest number of homeless children in the school system are from Chicopee. A total of 102 of the 211 children are from the city, with 40 from Springfield, eight from Holyoke and the remaining are typically one and two children from a wide variety of other communities. There are 39 children from out of state with 12 from Florida.
Even if children are from Chicopee and live in local hotels once they become homeless, there may still be additional busing costs because teachers try to keep children in the same school even if they are living outside the district, Rodolakis said.
“We feel it is important to keep our children in their school of origin. In many cases, it is their only stability,” she said.