Job loss and foreclosure crisis takes toll on 31,000 kids in Michigan

This is very sad news and shows much the foreclosure crisis has inflicted families. It is no longer a racial or low-income problem. The bad economy is targeting middle-class families too. In Michigan, the number of homeless students in Michigan has jumped more than 300% in the last four years.

In the 2010-11 school year, more than 31,000 homeless students attended school -- 8,500 more than in the previous school year, a 37% spike attributed to the weak economy, loss of jobs and the foreclosure crisis. Overall, the number of homeless students in Michigan has jumped more than 300% in the last four years. Most experts say those numbers are low because many parents are embarrassed to admit they are homeless. And many school districts lack the resources to identify these kids, as required by federal law.

You can read more about the homeless student population below:

• Number of homeless students database
  
• Life in a shelter: 'Everything is going to work out'
  
• Who is homeless?
  
• Costs spike to transport homeless students to school
  
• Links to more help for the homeless in Michigan
  
• For Michigan's homeless students, a storage room of backpacks shows community support (December 19, 2011)
  
• Covenant House offers homeless kids a high school education (December 20, 2011)
  
• Adrian and Traverse City open their arms to homeless kids who need to finish school (December 21, 2011)
  
• Family in Detroit receives home: 'We feel so blessed'