STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. \u2014 As principal of Dunaire Elementary School, Sean Deas has seen firsthand the struggles faced by children living in extended-stay hotels. About 10% of students at his school, just east of Atlanta, live in one.<\/p>\n
The children, Deas said, often have been exposed to violence on hotel properties, exhibit aggression or anxiety from living in a crowded single room, and face food insecurity because some hotel rooms don\u2019t have kitchens.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial trauma is the biggest challenge\u201d when students first arrive, Deas said. \u201cWe hear a lot about sleep problems.\u201d To meet students\u2019 needs, Deas developed a schoolwide program featuring counselors, a food pantry, and special protocols for handling those who may fall asleep in class.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond the teaching, there\u2019s a social part,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to find ways to support the families as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Extended-stay hotels are often a last resort for low-income families trying to find housing. Nationally, more than 100,000 students lived in extended-stay hotels in 2022, according to the Department of Education, though officials say that is likely an undercount. Children living in hotels are considered homeless under federal law, and in some Atlanta-area counties about 40% of homeless students live in this kind of housing, according to local officials.<\/p>\n
And with rising rents and evictions, and decreased access to federal public housing, the use of extended-stay hotels as a long-term option is becoming more frequent. Like other forms of homelessness, hotel living can lead to \u2014 or exacerbate \u2014 physical and mental health problems for children, say advocates for families and researchers who study homelessness.<\/p>\n
In the Atlanta area, inspections of extended-stay hotels have revealed ventilation issues, insect infestations, mold, and other health threats. Children living there also can experience or witness crime and gun violence. The increasing use of extended-stay hotels is a warning sign, observers said, a reflection of the lack of sufficient affordable housing policy in the U.S.<\/p>\n
And the crisis is having \u201clifelong consequences,\u201d said Sarah Saadian of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. \u201cThe only way that we can really address that shortage is if there are significant federal resources at scale. Build more housing and bridge the gap between rents and wages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Often, evictions force families into hotels \u2014 and can keep them trapped there. Many landlords refuse to rent to people with evictions in their credit history, even if the tenant isn\u2019t responsible for the displacement, said Joy Monroe, founder and CEO of the Single Parent Alliance & Resource Center, or SPARC, a nonprofit group in metro Atlanta that has helped hundreds of families move from hotels to apartments or rental homes.<\/p>\n
Black women and other women of color, often with kids, are evicted at much higher rates and are more likely to find themselves living in extended-stay hotels, advocates say.<\/p>\n
Some residents are also families fleeing domestic violence, they say.<\/p>\n
Hotels often don\u2019t require security deposits, application fees, or background checks, thus providing immediate relief for families seeking shelter. While there are higher-end options, the average rate for an economy-class extended-stay room was $56.68 a night during the first three months of 2024, according to the Highland Group, a research firm that focuses on the hotel sector \u2014 which works out to more than $1,700 a month.<\/p>\n
And while the rooms offer respite from other forms of homelessness \u2014 like sleeping in a car or in a tent \u2014 a hotel \u201cis no place to raise children,\u201d said Michael Bryant, CEO of New Life Community Alliance, which helps families in South Dekalb, a part of metro Atlanta, move from hotels to homes.<\/p>\n
Children living in hotels are often behind on vaccinations, and they may end up in the emergency room because of delays in care, said Gary Kirkilas, a pediatrician in Phoenix who helps children, teens, and families who are presently homeless or at risk of homelessness. About 75% of children with unstable housing whom he sees have at least one developmental delay, and others experience significant emotional and behavioral issues.<\/p>\n
Tanazia Scott, who has bounced between two extended-stay hotels for several months, said her three children \u201cfeel depressed and upset\u201d over hotel life.<\/p>\n
An eviction sent Kassandra Norman, 58, and her two daughters into a months-long journey of staying in Atlanta-area hotels. For three months, they slept in a car outside a convenience store. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to do homework in a car and in the hotel,\u201d said 19-year-old Kazuri Taylor, Norman\u2019s younger daughter.<\/p>\n
Some hotels prohibit kids from playing outside in their parking lots, leading to additional stress, advocates say. That was the reason Yvonne Thomas, 45, and her family were evicted from an extended-stay hotel in DeKalb County, she said: \u201cThey put us out for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
And there are other problems. More than a dozen students at Dunaire Elementary live on an extended-stay property called Haven Hotel. In August, DeKalb County\u2019s code enforcement division said the hotel had \u201cnot maintained minimum life safety standards.\u201d Roaches and spiders live in rooms and breezeways, according to state health inspection reports. Residents say they have been charged $1 for a roll of toilet paper.<\/p>\n
The hotel\u2019s owner and manager could not be reached for comment after multiple attempts.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one is talking about these families,\u201d said Sue Sullivan, a community advocate and a volunteer with the Motel to Home coalition in Atlanta, who brings toys, bookbags, food, and toiletries on her hotel visits.<\/p>\n
A February public health inspection at another DeKalb County hotel found several rooms with poor ventilation, insect infestation, and mold, among other potential health threats. In May, two people were fatally shot there.<\/p>\n
Children who witness violence can develop anxiety, depression, and other disorders, said Charles Moore, director of the Urban Health Initiative at Emory University School of Medicine. \u201cThey can feel emotional aftershocks,\u201d said Moore, who has visited Atlanta-area hotels.<\/p>\n
Closing such hotels, however, can hurt families, given the shortage of affordable housing, the absence of national federal renter protections, and a dearth of places to go, said Terri Lewinson, an associate professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Extended-stay hotels do \u201coffer a low-barrier option for families who have no other options,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To alleviate the housing problem, county officials and nonprofit organizations around the country have been creatively filling the gap. In the Seattle area, for example, King County officials purchased hotels and converted them into affordable housing, said Mark Skinner of the Highland Group.<\/p>\n
In metro Atlanta, SPARC and the local United Way\u2019s Motel to Home offer funding to help people transition into an apartment.<\/p>\n
In DeKalb County, where Dunaire Elementary School is located, more than a third of the 1,300 homeless students live in hotels, according to Commissioner Ted Terry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we can rescue the children,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a safe environment for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advocates who seek to help people living in hotels propose the construction of more affordable housing and stronger protections for renters against eviction. The federal government has failed to invest in repairs<\/a> needed to maintain current public housing units, and 25-year-old legislation effectively prohibits the construction of new public housing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also \u201cextremely fast, easy, and cheap\u201d to evict tenants in Georgia, said Taylor Shelton, an associate professor of geosciences at Georgia State University, whose research focuses on social inequalities and urban spaces. \u201cThe playing field is tilted heavily toward landlords.\u201d<\/p>\n Under such circumstances, the cycle of poverty is difficult to break, said Jamie Rush, a senior staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center. \u201cMost parents would want their kids in a safe, stable home,\u201d Rush said. \u201cYou can\u2019t budget your way out of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n Healthbeat is a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company<\/a> and KFF Health News<\/a>. Sign up for its newsletters here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n