Oct 21 Shining a Light: Advocating for Our Most Vulnerable Students This National Homeless Children’s Awareness Month

(October 21, 2025)

October is National Homeless Children’s Awareness Month, a crucial time to spotlight the immense challenges faced by children and youth experiencing homelessness across the country. Nearly 47,000 students in Pennsylvania are classified as homeless annually. Of these students, 42% change schools at least once during the year, disrupting their education and social connections. Over 3,400 students in Allegheny County alone were identified as experiencing homelessness last year, impacting every single public school district. Students facing housing instability are twice as likely to drop out and three times more likely to repeat a grade. Each move can set a child back academically by months, stripping away precious continuity in relationships, supports, and access to vital school resources. These aren’t just figures; they represent real children. On October 7, 2025, Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF) hosted a silent demonstration outside of the City-County Building to bring awareness to the children experiencing housing instability across Allegheny County. I participated in this silent demonstration along with HCEF staff, students, and community members.

The mission of HCEF is to improve educational equity for students experiencing homelessness through direct student support and strong advocacy. Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Sara Innamarato spoke about the importance of ensuring equitable access to this vulnerable population. The highlight of the event for me was hearing from Xavier Littlejohn (pictured above), who is not only an HCEF participant but also a founding member of the Collegiate Advocacy Committee through the organization. Xavier shared the struggles he faced as an unhoused youth who ultimately ended up in the child welfare system. He never thought he could ever go to college but now with the support of his homeless liaison at his high school, HCEF, and other caring advocates, he is wrapping up his last year at the University of Pittsburgh and is eager to pursue a graduate degree.

As I listened to Xavier’s heartfelt testimony, I knew I had to write a blog post shining light on this critical issue and elevating Xavier’s lived experience to humanize the statistics. What I did not anticipate was then having to end the blog post with discouraging news and a call to action. On October 10, the US Department of Education fired the entire federal homeless education team that administers the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. While this action has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, with a hearing to be held in the next few weeks, the fate of these vital workers and the vulnerable students they serve remains uncertain. The SchoolHouse Connection is leading advocacy on this matter and shared the following:

“These professionals are essential to ensuring that children and youth experiencing homelessness can attend and succeed in school. They help the U.S. Department of Education to carry out its legal requirements specified in the McKinney-Vento Act – including providing states and school districts with assistance on enrollment, transportation, and educational stability, and responding to inquiries from parents about their educational rights. Without dedicated staffing, ED will not be able to meet these requirements – and homeless children and youth will be deprived of the education that is their best chance of a better future. I urge you to contact the White House and the U.S. Department of Education immediately to demand the reinstatement of the EHCY team. I also urge you to exercise congressional oversight to prevent further disruption of vital education programs.

Every child deserves stability, safety, and a fair chance to learn — no matter where they sleep at night.”

Please consider signing this petition to ensure all children have the same educational opportunities.

For news coverage of HCEF’s demonstration: click here

To learn more about the potential impacts of the firings within the Department of Education:
Trump Administration Fires OESE Staff, Including Homeless Education Office (SchoolHouse Connection)
Uncertainty, shock amid mass staff reductions at federal Education Department (EdSource)
UPDATE: Administration Fires ED Staff Important for K-12 Programs (AASA)

Heather Wilkes, Allies for Children Policy Director