Homelessness within the Wissahickon School District

There is a 2014-15 report out from the Pennsylvania Department of Education that identifies the number of homeless children within each school district. The report (download it) reports on page 19 that there are 21 children within the Wissahickon School District identified as homeless. Within Montgomery County, the top number is 109 in the Norristown School District and several have zero homeless students.

How does the state define homelessness?

A family or student is considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento definition if they are in any of these places or situations:
• Public or private shelters
• Public or private places not designated for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping
accommodations such as vehicles, parks, motels, campgrounds, etc.
• Living with a parent in a domestic violence shelter
• Living with relatives or friends due to lack of housing
• Living in transitional housing programs
• Runaway children (under 18 years of age) and children and youth who have been abandoned
or forced out of their home by parents or other caretakers (unaccompanied youth). These children
may be in temporary shelters awaiting assistance from social service agencies, or may live alone
on the street or move from place to place among family members, friends or acquaintances
• Children of migrant families who lack adequate housing
• Children abandoned in hospitals or awaiting foster care*
* Youth awaiting foster care placement include those who are placed in: emergency, interim or respite
foster care; kinship care; evaluation or diagnostic centers; or placements for the sole purpose of
evaluation. On a case-by-case basis, through coordination between the school and all involved
agencies, it can be determined if the youth is “awaiting foster care placement.”