Mississippi Launches Plan To End Child Homelessness

Fulfilling the wishes and happiness of children is at the heart of the holiday season. So, now seems particularly timely for Mississippi to launch a new plan to end child homelessness (pdf) in the state.  What better way to set the season of giving in motion than by committing to finding safe and stable homes for the roughly 12,000 homeless children and youth of Mississippi?

The shocking number homeless youth in the state has steadily increased in recent years, according to the Campaign to End Child Homelessness and National Center on Family Homelessness, and can no longer be overlooked. The newly announced plan is considered the first coordinated effort in Mississippi to talk about family homelessness, as well as solutions. The campaign aims to increase public awareness of the issue, improve state and local policies to address homelessness, and perhaps most importantly, improve programs and services to prevent and ultimately end child and family homelessness. Reports can be studied all day long, but the key is putting those words into action.

Most of the children that the plan takes into account are not found on the street. Instead, many of the youth are living with parents and siblings in shelters; in unsafe, substandard housing; or doubled-up in the homes of relatives or friends in overcrowded and unstable living conditions. Surviving homelessness is particularly difficult for young people, and creates a devastating ripple effect that puts them at a potentially lifelong disadvantage for physical and mental health, educational achievement and job opportunities.  Mississippi – and the country at large – cannot afford to shirk the responsibility of ending childhood homelessness any longer.

Among the many urgent recommendations that the Mississippi Campaign to End Child Homelessness proposes include developing a statewide Interagency Council on Homelessness, increasing access to affordable housing and supportive services, and providing educational and job training opportunities for homeless youth and parents. The extensive guidelines will require the coordination of state and local officials, service providers, business leaders, religious organizations, and, well, everyone, in order for the plan to succeed.

Sign our petition urging Mississippi lawmakers to support the plan to end child homelessness.

Photo credit: Alex

(Update: To clarify, the plan to end child homelessness was developed by the Mississippi Campaign to End Child Homelessness, not Mississippi's state government, but sign our petition to urge them to support the plan!)