breaking the cycle: supporting children experiencing homelessness
Homelessness is devastating at any age—but for children, the impacts can shape the course of their entire lives. Mary’s Place and our partners are working to minimize trauma and build pathways to stability for families, breaking generational cycles of homelessness.
We gathered leaders from community programs supporting education and development for youth experiencing homelessness for a panel discussion about the impacts of homelessness on kids and how we can improve long-term outcomes. You can watch the webinar recording here.
How does homelessness impact children?
“Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops before age five. When children experience homelessness, poverty, and trauma during this critical period, it can lead to toxic stress, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), disruptions in executive function, emotional regulation challenges, and learning loss,” shared Dominique Alex of Mary’s Place.
But the impacts extend far beyond brain development.
Children experiencing homelessness are sick four times more often than their housed peers and experience three to four times the rate of developmental delays, especially in language, social skills, and motor development. Nearly 50% of children under age four who are homeless show developmental delays—compared to about 12–16% of children in stable housing.
Frequent moves, unsafe environments, and disrupted routines also increase emotional and behavioral challenges. Children who are homeless are three times more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and behavioral health issues. By age five, more than half have moved three or more times, creating instability that makes it harder to build relationships and feel secure.
These health and developmental challenges compound over time, especially when homelessness lasts longer than six months, increasing the likelihood of long-term effects on learning, behavior, and future stability.
Closing education gaps
Our Youth Services program at Mary’s Place, and our community partners, like the McKinney-Vento program at Highline Public School, address one of the largest risk factors for children experiencing homelessness–becoming disconnected from school and early learning opportunities.
“When a child doesn’t know where they’ll sleep at night, making it to school becomes incredibly difficult,” shared Antonio Lewis, McKinney-Vento and Foster Care Liaison at Highline Public Schools.
“According to our data, 42% of students experiencing homelessness say they’ve dropped out of school at least once. Families who are couch surfing often move from place to place, making consistent attendance nearly impossible. For children living in cars or tents, the barriers grow—lack of transportation, no quiet place to study, and no internet access to complete assignments.
Overall, from what we’ve seen, children and teens experiencing homelessness face an 87% likelihood of dropping out, chronic absenteeism, or disproportionate school discipline.”
Nationally, students experiencing homelessness are:
48% chronically absent
three times more likely to be placed in special education
twice as likely to score lower on standardized tests
eight times more likely to be held back a grade
The result is a high school graduation rate of just 68% among students experiencing homelessness.
These disruptions don’t just affect childhood—they are one of the strongest predictors that a child will experience homelessness again as an adult, continuing a cycle that becomes harder to break with every missed school day.
“The federal McKinney-Vento program works to improve these outcomes by providing educational stability support for youth who are unstably housed,” says Antonio. “This support can look different for each student and ranges from providing transportation to school, to providing students with laptops and hotspots, and providing school meals to ensure students are fed.”
Reducing early childhood trauma
To understand how we can reduce early childhood trauma for children, we heard from Zivit Shechter Nissim, Kaleidoscope Play & Learn Program Manager, Childcare Resources, at BrightSpark, a Mary’s Place partner at the Allen Family Center – a drop-in, free resource center for King County families experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
The numbers she shared are staggering:
Pre-COVID, more than 30,000 children under age six in Washington State were experiencing homelessness. Since then, this number has only gone up.
40% of children in homeless shelters are under the age of four
Most families accessing BrightSpark services are families of color, low-income single parents, and women who have experienced domestic violence and chronic housing instability
Zivit explained that children experiencing homelessness often live in chaotic, unpredictable environments. Frequent moves, unstable relationships, and unsafe living conditions can disrupt emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development. “Research shows that childhood homelessness and trauma can have accumulative negative effects on brain development, increasing the likelihood that children will experience homelessness again as adults” shares Zivit.
“Stability, nurturing caregivers, safe environments, and quality trauma-informed early learning can provide a protective anchor for children and families.” This is where BrightSpark plays a critical role at the Allen Family Center—offering low-barrier childcare navigation, trauma-informed care, and support for both caregivers and young children for families in shelter, sleeping outside, and facing housing instability.
Reducing trauma in shelter
At Mary’s Place, our Youth Services program focuses on reducing trauma that children and teens experience living in shelter. Our Youth Services staff partner closely with schools to ensure kids and teens don’t fall behind. We help with enrollment, transportation, and homework in Kids Club. The team provides trauma-informed programming for children from birth through age 18. Our goal is to ensure that children in shelter feel safe, supported, and connected to developmental resources.
“Our in-shelter youth programming is split up by age group and ultimately provides a safe space, with trauma-informed caregivers, where kids can just be kids and stay connected to their peers,” shares Mary’s Place Youth Services Director.
“Tots Club (ages 0–5) provides on-site early learning and enrichment, developmental screening and referrals, and parent support and connection to daycare, preschool, and Head Start programs. The early intervention that happens through Tots Club is essential. By identifying developmental needs early, we can help children stay on track during a critical stage of brain development.
Our Kids Club, for children 5-12, offers homework help and educational activities, emotional development support, and after-school structure that is critical for kids experiencing instability. Each day when kids return from school, they have a safe space to learn, play, and process their emotions.”
And lastly, our Teen Club, for ages 13-18, provides a dedicated space for older kids with youth-led programming that helps build confidence and independence. Teens in shelter often take on adult responsibilities, especially when caring for younger siblings. Teen Club gives them room to simply be teens and take ownership of their experiences.
Our Youth Services team also partners closely with our behavioral health team to connect children to mental health supports when trauma-based behaviors emerge.”
Preventing trauma before it happens
While these programs are essential for families already experiencing homelessness, we know the best way to minimize trauma and break generational cycles of homelessness is to prevent families from losing their homes.
“At Mary’s Place, we’re using a three-pronged approach of emergency shelter, mobile outreach, and prevention to address family homelessness. Our prevention program keeps families in their hard-won homes with rental assistance and stability supports before an eviction occurs,” shares Dominique Alex.
“Prevention doesn’t just keep families housed—it protects children’s developing brains, strengthens their educational outcomes, reduces long-term health impacts, and increases their chances of thriving into adulthood. By investing in stability today, we can change the trajectory of a child’s life.”