Student homelessness in Hamilton County Schools already approaching last year’s record high

Staff Photo by Olivia Ross / Residents wait outside Nov. 16 at the Budgetel Inn. After being told early that morning they had just few hours to leave the building, many residents begin packing their belongings. The building was shut down due to high crime. Staff Photo by Olivia Ross / Residents wait outside Nov. 16 at the Budgetel Inn. After being told early that morning they had just few hours to leave the building, many residents begin packing their belongings. The building was shut down due to high crime.

By Carmen Nesbitt November 27, 2022 5 min read

Around 1,600 Hamilton County Schools students experienced homelessness during the last academic year, district officials estimate.

Four months into the 2022-23 academic year, 1,400 students have been homeless so far. That number, which accounts for August-October, almost matches the totals from 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the entire academic year, and surpasses 2020-21.

“Since COVID, we have seen a significant rise in the number of students that are experiencing homelessness,” the district’s chief of equity and advocacy, Marsha Drake, said in an interview. “It is as though families have not, and just cannot, completely bounce back.”

The numbers have more than tripled since 2017. More children experienced homelessness in the 2021-22 academic year than at any other point in the past five years.