How could affordable housing project in Fort Worth impact children’s growth, education?
An affordable housing project in Fort Worth could be the first of its kind in the area, catering to families with children who are experiencing homelessness while providing them with additional professional, educational and health-related services. For the youngest tenants, a stable home environment could translate to better academic performance for students and a stronger foundation for early childhood development for infants and toddlers.
Casa de Los Sueños, formerly the Express Inn motel, will serve as permanent supportive housing for local families experiencing homelessness after the city, county and private donors contributed funding for the project that cost just short of $15 million.
Slated to open in about a month, the finishing touches are wrapping up as the 83-room motel is being repurposed into a 55-unit affordable housing community with 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom layouts, according to Fort Worth Housing Solutions President Mary-Margaret Lemons. Fort Worth Housing Solutions, which partnered with developer Ojala Holdings on the remodel, is managing the property located at 8401 West Freeway in western Fort Worth’s Las Vegas Trail neighborhood, just south of Interstate 30.
The property will serve families with children younger than 18 years old. Families were prioritized in light of a surge of homelessness seen in Fort Worth in late 2022 when the number of homeless families had nearly doubled since spring 2022. Salvation Army and Presbyterian Night Shelter, the two main emergency shelters for families, had reached capacity and for the first time were forced to turn away families. Lemons noted that this unprecedented surge of families experiencing homelessness in the area had happened around the same time that American Rescue Plan funding became available for affordable housing projects through Tarrant County.
“Our shelters were overcrowded, and we had people with children that were sleeping in cars and in situations that we just haven’t seen at this frequency and at this rate. As a community, we were all very concerned because we understand that having a stable home impacts education and food and all of those things that kids need to grow and become good members of society,” Lemons said.
In terms of families who are in need currently, there are more than 300 on the waiting list for housing, Lemons said.
The housing project is the product of various financial donors. Tarrant County is contributing the largest amount with $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding, even after officials downsized the contribution from the $11 million that was originally proposed. The city of Fort Worth contributed $2 million, and private funding and donations have covered most of the remaining balance, according to Lemons. There is an about $1 million shortfall that is continuing to be raised through grants and additional donations.
Impacts on families, children
The impacts of homelessness on children are far reaching, contributing to multiple risk factors that affect their development, education, health and behavior, according to research and experts. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, children within these living situations are more likely to switch to different schools, repeat a grade or face disciplinary action such as expulsion.
A 2020 research brief analyzing the educational outcomes of Houston ISD students experiencing homelessness found that those students attended fewer days of school and were more likely to drop out of school, although they had slightly higher STAAR test scores compared to students who were housed. Another study by the Child Care Services Association found that younger children who have access to early childhood programs and services can mitigate the negative impacts of homelessness on their developing brains.
Janette Herbers, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Villanova University, told the Star-Telegram that children and families who are experiencing housing instability are usually already experiencing other obstacles related to poverty. These obstacles alongside a lack of resources can stack up and create stress on a child as young as infant or toddler age, which weakens the foundation on which their future development builds upon. The risk factors associated with living in poverty or experiencing homelessness can translate to developmental delays at a young age or mental health issues such as anxiety or depression at an older age, Herbers said.
“It’s a big, expansive story that many of the things that we know can slow down or threaten or challenge child development are present in the lives of kids with housing instability. The more of these factors that any child is confronting, the more likely their resilience is just going to get overwhelmed. It’s just too much,” said Herbers, who has co-authored multiple studies on the impacts of homelessness on early childhood development and academic achievement.
Amid these risk factors, it’s crucial to create strong, healthy parent-child relationships where a child is confident that their parent is prioritizing their well-being and communicating with them about their situation, Herbers added. A positive parent-child relationship can also translate into how the child interacts with the rest of the world through building friendships with peers and building dialogue with teachers at school. It can be used as a tool to help a child overcome adversity.
“For young children, their well-being is inextricably tied to the well-being of the adults in their lives,” she said. “We support the caregivers and the parents, and we help them to identify and support their goals for their families, then that is, in my opinion, the biggest bang for our buck to support the children.”
Moreover, housing programs like Casa de Los Sueños, which will include case management and additional services beyond housing to support both parents and children, are key in overcoming these risk factors and helping families be set up for success, Herbers said.
Lemons, of the Fort Worth Housing Authority, said staff will focus on providing professional, educational, and health-related services. Examples include GED preparation classes and financial literacy courses for parents; weekly after-school tutoring and test preparation for students; and monthly access to a food pantry and an annual health fair with free health screenings, vaccines and flu shots.
The housing authority is in talks with Fort Worth Independent School District on potential after-school activities for student residents at Casa de Los Sueños who might also be enrolled in the district, Lemons said. She hopes in a couple of years to have data that shows the community that there’s a correlation between housing and academic achievement.
“I do think that it’s not a leap of reasoning to think that this is going to have an effect. If you don’t know if you’re sleeping in your car or in a shelter, that’s trauma for those kids. They can’t be worried about homework and math and things like that if they’re really worried about basic needs,” Lemons said. “I hope we can show some data in a couple of years that really does show the community that this is something that can change the trajectory of not just that child with his family and generations.”
