Giving Compass' Take:

• According to data from Advocates for Children of New York, the number of homeless students in NYC surpassed 100,000 for the third year in a row. 

• What can philanthropists do to address youth homelessness and access to education specifically? 

• Read the state index on youth homelessness to see how many homeless youths are in each state. 

Homeless school-aged children need extra support from the school system, and in New York City they don’t always get it, new data shows.

There are more New York City students living in homeless shelters or staying with relatives than ever before — about 1 in every 10, the New York Times reports.

The number of New York City students residing in temporary housing who are at risk of homelessness surpassed 100,000 for the third year in a row, according to data released Monday by Advocates for Children of New York, a nonprofit working to achieve equal education for communities affected by poverty. As of early 2018, 114,659 students across the five boroughs lived in permanent housing.

Homeless students have a lot more to deal with than the other kids in their classroom. In schools where homeless children make up 30% of the student population, and need additional assistance from the administration, it presents a huge burden.

The housing crisis is creating a bigger and bigger problem at schools with low-income students, the Times reports. These students tend to have more frequent issues with attendance due to inconvenient commutes — one city program, for example, aims to take proximity to school into consideration when placing families in shelters.

Government and private funding isn’t going very far to treat the situation, according to the New York Times — social workers are stretched thin, often with only one handling up to 1,660 homeless student cases. Philanthropic organizations also aren’t adequately contributing to aid the cause.

The number one cause of homelessness in New York City is due to lack of affordable housing, and disproportionately affects people of color, according to the organization Coalition for the Homeless.

Read the full article about homeless students by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen