There is a school of thought, one that has some merit, which suggests there is little that government can do to cure the plight of homelessness. That many people prefer to live on the streets. That many people are reaping the results of their own actions in their inability to secure and maintain housing.
There is much evidence, after all, that the best intentions of governments and a large increase in public spending have done little to mitigate what continues to be a growing problem. Yet those arguments are scuttled by the realization that many victims of the current homeless crisis are children — those who are the most vulnerable and those for whom the situation is creating lifelong issues.
According to a report released last week, the number of homeless schoolchildren has grown exponentially in Washington in recent years, triggered by the Great Recession and lingering through the economic recovery. The report counted 2,313 Clark County students, from preschool through high school, as being homeless during the 2014-15 school year. In Vancouver Public Schools, the number of homeless students increased 10 percent over the previous year — and 112 percent since the 2009-10 school year. In Evergreen Public Schools, the one-year increase was 11 percent, while the five-year increase was 71 percent.
“I’m absolutely not surprised,” Melissa Newhouse, the homeless liaison for Vancouver schools, told The Columbian. “Not with the housing crisis that’s happening in Clark County. The biggest thing we’re seeing in Vancouver is the financial hardship of not being able to pay rent. That is what’s putting our students on the streets, in hotels, in cars or in shelters.”