Number of homeless children explodes in state, Albany

Lauren Stanforth

In a five-year time span, school-age children who were classified as homeless almost doubled in New York state, a trend driven by the recession and family displacements due to Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy.

More than 2,000 school-age children in the four-county Capital Region were classified as homeless during the 2012-2013 year, according to data reviewed by the Times Union. The city of Albany's levels more than doubled what they were before the recession hit in late 2008.

The data, reported by school districts through the state Education Department, illustrates that promising forecasts by some economists have not panned out for tens of thousands of New York families.

"From New York City to Buffalo, homelessness has been on a trajectory that's unsustainable," said William Gettman Jr., executive director of St. Catherine's Center for Children, which runs the busy Marillac Family Shelter in Albany.

http://m.timesunion.com/local/article/Number-of-homeless-children-still-high-after-5570153.php