More Than 21K Queens Students Are Experiencing Homelessness: Data

QUEENS, NY — More than 21,000 Queens schoolkids have no place to call home, according to a report released Thursday.

Across the borough, about 16,500 students were "doubled up" in shared living situations and another 4,000 were living in shelters during the 2019-2010 school year, according to the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students's report, which is based on New York State Education Department data from public and charter schools.

Hundreds more were "unsheltered," spending the night in cars, parks, campgrounds, temporary trailers or abandoned buildings, the data shows.

District 24 had the most homeless students of any Queens school district, with roughly 5,600, and the third-highest number among all New York City school districts.

That school district stretches from Corona and Elmhurst down to Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood and is largely Hispanic and Latino, according to the district's website.

The number of homeless students across New York City topped 111,000 during the last academic year, or one of every 10 schoolkids.

Of those, 85 percent are Black or Hispanic.

It's the fifth consecutive year that the number of homeless students surpassed 100,000.

Still, advocates said the most recent numbers could be an undercount due to the coronavirus pandemic and the start of remote learning, which may have impeded schools' ability to identify how many students were experiencing homeless.

“The vast scale of student homelessness in New York City demands urgent attention,” Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children, said in a prepared 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.”