The New York Times has reported on evidence from the Eviction Lab that “Children under 5 make up the largest group by age of those whose households have had an eviction filed against them.”
While this data is surprising and an eye opener, folks supporting families experiencing homelessness may not be as surprised because we know that the largest group of homeless children and youth are the infants and toddlers. In Pennsylvania, 23 percent of the 40,003 children and youth identified as homeless are in the age range birth to kindergarten-age; Philadelphia’s percentage is 33 percent.
About a quarter of Black babies and toddlers in rental households face the threat of eviction in a typical year, the study says, and all children are disproportionately at risk.
The Eviction Lab data comes from a 2007-2016 time frame. Those children are now in the age range of 7 to 21.
From HopePHL
