Nearly 4,000 Harlem Students Identified As Homeless, Study Finds

HARLEM, NY — Thousands of kids attending schools in Harlem and East Harlem last year had no home to return to at the end of the day, according to a report released Thursday.

The report found that 2,215 students in District 5, which covers Central, West and North Harlem were either living in shelters, "doubled-up" in a temporary housing situation or sleeping in unsheltered places like cars, parks or abandoned buildings.

Another 1,761 students in East Harlem's District 4 were in the same situation, adding up to 3,975 students across Harlem, according to the report, which was based on New York State Education Department data and prepared by the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students.

The area with the most homeless students was District 10 in the East Bronx, which had nearly 9,800.

Overall, the report found more than 111,000 homeless students citywide — including more than 19,000 in Manhattan alone — during the 2019-2020 school year. It was the fifth consecutive year that the total exceeded 100,000.

That represents a roughly 2 percent drop in homeless students from the previous year, but researchers said the closure of school buildings during the coronavirus pandemic may have made it harder for schools to identify students experiencing homelessness.

"The vast scale of student homelessness in New York City demands urgent attention," Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children, said in a statement.

"If these children comprised their own city, it would be larger than Albany, and their numbers may skyrocket even further after the state eviction moratorium is lifted. The City must act now to put more support in place for students who are homeless."

Eighty-five percent of homeless students in the city were Black and Hispanic, according to the study, and many experienced deficiencies in their reading skills.

The report called on city officials to ensure that students who are homeless have adequate technology to participate in remote learning — including iPads and Wi-Fi in city shelters — and to use attendance data to contact families of students who are homeless.

Maya Kaufman contributed to this report.