Homeless Children: Innocent Victims in the Foreclosure Mess

The current problem in the mortgage industry has resulted to millions of homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure. And if this is not enough to weaken the national economy, the recent Wall Street meltdown has certainly made everything worse for the housing industry. Sadly, children belonging to families who lost their homes to foreclosure are among the innocent victims.

In the past year, the number of children who found themselves homeless has grown at a considerable rate. Most of the parents are unable to find a decent job that will allow them to at least rent a decent apartment. Without the money, the families are forced to live in motels and shelters.

The growing foreclosure rate can also be the reason for the considerable increase in homeless children. Even parents with good paying jobs have found themselves with mortgage payments that they could no longer afford especially after the interest rates re-set on their housing loans. Add the weakening economy and high fuel costs; you can expect most families to prioritize their immediate needs before the mortgage payments.

According to the Washington DC - based National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the nationwide increase in the number of homeless children has become quite alarming. Even families who are renting out their homes found themselves on the streets because their landlords did not inform them about the foreclosure.

The only thing that these homeless children can look forward to each day is going to school. And for this reason, many school districts including the Newport Mesa Unified School District have taken the initiative to help these distressed families, particularly the children, by setting up a “homeless store” where they could get school supplies, clothes and toiletries.

The plight of these homeless children should be a wake up call for all the officials in the government. As the mess in the housing and credit industries worsens, the collateral damage also grows. It is very crucial that the government to provide assistance to these children if we still want them to have a bright future.