114 of thousands of homeless schoolchildren in New York: what do children go through to get a decent education

The number of school-age children in New York City who live in shelters or whose families are forced to share housing with others has grown by 70% over the past decade. “This is a crisis that had no precedent in the history of the city,” the newspaper writes. The New York Times.

In the afternoon, 114 schoolchildren in New York, who do not have a permanent place of residence, are in full view: they are preparing their lessons on the subway and running around the playgrounds. However, at night these children sleep in terrible and unsafe rooms. This often lasts for several months and then they move again. For them, the school is the only stable place.

The stories of 8-year-old Darnell and 10-year-old Sandivel show how much effort and good luck it takes homeless children to get a decent education in New York.

Darnell lives in a homeless shelter and goes to school on 24 km per day.

Sandivel shares a bedroom with his mother and four brothers. Over the past five years, her family has moved to a new place seven times.

Morning

Sandivel. Sandy gets up shortly before the clock shows 6 in the morning. She shares the bed with her mother Maria and her younger brother Johnny; the other three brothers are sleeping on a thin mattress on the ground. There is no place for a nightstand, so the mobile phone, which serves as an alarm clock, is hidden under the bed.

To make this place more cheerful, the walls in it were painted in a heavenly color and decorated with posters of Barack Obama and the Virgin Mary.

Two children brush their teeth at the same time. Amazingly, the family shares the bathroom and kitchen of the two-bedroom apartment with another family of four.

“I have a lot of people with me, but they calm me down,” Sandivel says.

Sandy has a collection of hair bows that she stores on the wall in the bedroom. Every morning she chooses a new one.

Maria packs lunch for Sandy in a bag, after which the children go to the door. They will spend an hour on the road to get from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Sandy is one of more than 73 homeless students who shared their homes with other families last year. In one of the places where the Sandy family once lived, a roommate tried to kill a neighbor. In another apartment, the family was deprived of the opportunity to use the kitchen with their neighbors and had to eat in the bedroom.

Her mother is trying to keep her family afloat with her meager savings. She searches for work every day, and then she runs out of money. The rent for her room is about $ 700 per month.

Maria travels with her children to and from school every day, which means that she needs to find a day job with a fixed schedule.

In the subway, Sandy looks up from her book and notices a tormented child standing in front of her. She gives him her place.

The children entered 188 public school after Mary escaped from her husband, whom she calls an abusive relationship. Due to domestic violence, they moved to a shelter for such families.

Darnell. Darnell, who lives in Queens, opens his eyes, and as soon as he begins to see a bright sky, he understands that something is wrong here. Not yet 6: 30, but he is already late.

His mother, Sherin, screams for the school bus driver to wait, but he does not hear. That night, the children slept for only a few hours. A phone was stolen from Sherin, and the family spent the evening at the police station. They managed to sleep only after midnight.

Darnell takes his subway from his Queens shelter to a school in East Harlem and spends 90 minutes on the road.

The apartment where Darnell lives is dirty, and it is located far from the places where his friends live. However, this place is safer and more spacious than the cramped room in which he lived with his brothers and sisters in his grandmother's house.

Darnell, who is in fourth grade, has already changed four schools.

Like her son, Sherin never had a place where she lived for so long to call him home. She was brought up by her grandmother until 12 years, and then lived in a foster family. She came to the shelter when she was 18 years old, and has not left him ever since.

In total, 35-year-old Sherin has eight children. Five elders were taken from her a few years ago when she lived with their father, whom she calls an abusive relationship.

Sherin recently found a job as a home health care assistant. Desperate to find her place in life, she says: “No child should grow up in a shelter.”

Afternoon

Sandy. An English lesson is Sandy's paradise. She adores her teacher, carefully writes everything down in a notebook and keeps a list of books that she has already read.

Sandy matured very early, having learned a lesson in life, but Director Suani Ramos is still worried about her.

Ms. Ramos said she was disappointed that there was only one social worker in a school where about half of the students were homeless. According to her, school employees are overwhelmed by children experiencing an acute crisis.

“No one is going to look at Sandyvelle and say, 'She needs help,'” says Ms Ramos, adding that Sandy will eventually have to deal with trauma.

After mass protests by activists, Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the addition of 31 this year a new social worker who is required to work with homeless students in urban schools. Now the total number of social workers was about 100 people. The city spends $ 14 million annually to pay their labor, while the annual budget of the Department of Education is about $ 24 billion.

It is noted that at home the girl suffered outbreaks of bullying, but did not become vindictive. Sandy continues to chat with a boy who has lice.

At the playground, Sandy is upset watching her friend mock another girl.

“She's my friend, but I'm not sure if I want to continue to be friends with her,” says Sandy of the bully.

Darnell. At the start of the change at public school No. 76, Darnell joined a football company. After a few minutes, a dispute arises over the rules of the game, and the boys, pushing each other, find themselves in a circle. The director is trying to reassure Darnell. Mr. DeBerry is pleased that students, including Darnell, are comfortable coming to him with problems. But he would like for the school to have a social worker who will help work with approximately 30% of students without a specific residence.

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At lunch, Darnell ate a slice of pizza. After lunch, his day began to crumble.

In the hallway, Darnell clicks on his classmate's forehead and tells him to hurry. The boy pushes Darnell back and he falls to the cold floor from linoleum. After the fight, teacher Darnell notices that he is crying in the classroom and calls a school psychologist.

After the proceedings, both boys apologize in almost a whisper. Darnell tells the psychologist that he is bored and does not want to return to class.

A school can really be boring for Darnell, a fourth-grade student, because he often puzzles him. He has learning disabilities and reading problems.

Last year, more than 70% of homeless students in the city did not pass state exams in English, and only less than 60% of homeless children graduated from public high schools in the city.

Darnell comes to life in a computer class, where he demonstrates his dexterity in mathematics, pattern matching, and filling out multiplication tables.

Until the end of the day, Darnell almost got involved in another fight.

After completing classes, the boy spends another three hours at school, passing a special program. His eyes are already sticking together, but there is still a football training ahead.

Evening

Sandy. After school, Sandy's 15-year-old brother, Jesus, begins his daily ritual: he walks past PS 188's cavernous gym to pick up his younger siblings. Then he makes sure that they take a shower before they go on a long journey back home.

For them, transport is a mobile library. The kids get homework, and Sandy looks over the assignments of his younger brother Giovanni. “Pretty easy,” she sums up.

In Union Square, they meet with their mother.

Darnell. At 6 o'clock in the evening, Darnell enters the school’s main office to prepare for a football training session with his brother Thomas. This helps Darnell stay focused. He respects his coach and listens carefully to his instructions.

Sherin is the “soccer mom” and a key player on the team. She helps the children put on their jerseys and leads the players onto a field a few blocks to the north.

Darnell rushes across the field, clutching his sides and clenching his fists. After several years of bullying, Darnell was first able to find friends thanks to football.

“I'm glad he feels safe now,” Sherin says. "But I want him to have his place."

After a short pause, Sherin added that she considers herself a failed parent.

“I had to provide them with everything they needed,” she says.

Sandy stands on tiptoe and squints when train N enters the Manhattan Bridge. She looks at the horizon line until the train sinks underground. She hopes the family will gather in the bedroom to watch the episode “Cake Boss” or “Tom and Jerry” on a small TV that sits on top of two dressers.

Towards the end of the football training, Darnell and his siblings are exhausted and hungry. Sherin mentally takes an inventory of what remains of food in the shelter; she hopes that by 10 they will eat thawed chicken.

Tomorrow Darnell and Sandy will get up before the sun rises to go through it all over and over again.