Big Jump In Homelessness For California Students; Wealthy Districts No Exception
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KCBS) -- California schools are seeing a big jump in the number of homeless students, and wealthy districts like many of those in the Bay Area are no exception.
Mountain View has an unemployment rate under 2 percent, but there are close to 200 homeless students attending the district's schools.
Vice Mayor Ken Rosenberg says he was surprised to hear that at a recent city council meeting.
"It is a wakeup call for many of us around here. The high cost of living, the high demand for jobs has created – oh and years and years of under-building dwelling units has created a scenario where longtime residents are getting priced out," Rosenberg said.
Shahera Hyatt, Director of the California Homeless Youth Project says it's surprising that city leaders are caught off guard by the figures.
"People are surprised because it's not the typical face of homelessness, to think of a child or family. I think people think of a single, adult male who may be a veteran, and may be chronically homeless – something like that, because that's a more visible segment of the population," Hyatt said.
She says homeless students are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to learning compared to their peers.
