More and more families are experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Some 1,500 families access shelter annually (Office of Supportive Housing, 2013). Compounding this challenge is the fact that low-income families with young children and infants are more likely to access emergency housing, possibly because they are less likely to have well-established and robust social support networks. Many families with infants engage emergency shelter as an option of last resort.

Why does this matter? The emergency housing environment can serve as both a risk and a protective factor for young children experiencing homelessness. Environments that do not address the developmental needs of young children coupled with experiences of trauma can have long-lasting negative effects on infants. The data in this report shows that infants who experience homelessness tend to experience more risks to positive development than their housed peers. This report includes action steps to be considered by Philadelphia’s family homeless housing system.