DANVERS — The number of homeless students living in Danvers motel rooms and attending local schools has more than doubled since last October.
In response, the town is moving to make sure those students and families get the services they need.
While the number of homeless children in the school system can fluctuate day by day throughout the year, officials said the numbers are up dramatically over last fall when the economic downturn became more severe.
Based on Oct. 1 enrollment figures, there were 46 homeless students in the schools at all grade levels, Superintendent Lisa Dana said. An additional 20 students living in Danvers motel rooms are attending school outside the district, Dana added.
Last Oct. 1, 22 homeless students attended Danvers schools. In January 2009, school officials said they had seen 41 homeless students during the first half of the year.
During the 2007-2008 school year, the schools dealt with eight or nine homeless students in all. Officials said they are seeing the biggest spike in homelessness since the economic downturn in 2003 and 2004.
Town officials met Monday morning to see what they could do to address the situation, and the School Committee discussed the matter briefly later that night.
"There is clearly an impact for the School Department," Town Manager Wayne Marquis said, and school officials are working "proactively."
The students live with their families in three hotels: Days Inn on Endicott Street and Motel 6 and Knights Inn, both on Route 1, Marquis said. He and Dana said the economy was the reason for the increase.
As many as 400 homeless people — including 230 children — live in the 1,000 motel rooms in town, Marquis said.
"The School Department has been working very hard to assimilate these students," Marquis said. Dana said yesterday that the homeless students are spread out to all five elementary schools.
There were 36 students attending the elementary schools, Student Services Director Kathleen Curtis told the School Committee, saying each school has taken in six to eight students.
"All of the schools have been positive and incredibly welcoming," Curtis said. Schools such as Highlands and Riverside are offering breakfast, and school nurses have been tracking down students' immunization records.
"The town has responded in its usual welcoming manner," Curtis said.
One of the costs the town must bear is transportation, either in town or to other districts. Figures were not readily available yesterday, though districts can share the cost of busing.
By federal law, the town must pay transportation costs so homeless students can attend school in their former districts, or finish the year in Danvers after they move out of town.
"We are obligated to transport these families, no doubt about it," Marquis said.
Danvers also benefits financially when rooms are filled, as the town receives approximately $800,000 in hotel/motel room taxes each year, Marquis said.
During the last downturn, Peabody and Danvers worked together to put on a summer recreation program for homeless kids at a school in Peabody, thanks to a grant from Salem Hospital, Marquis said. That might be a model for programs going forward, he said.
Phil Hailer, spokesman for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, did not have a breakdown of how many homeless students are living in motels statewide. However, he said the state has seen an increase in the number of homeless families, which leads to an increase in homeless children.
The state is trying to find solutions for homeless families by looking at the problem as one of the need for long-term housing, instead of temporary shelter.
As of July 1, oversight of the emergency shelter system was taken over by the housing department "to focus on a housing first solution," Hailer said.
But the tough economy has "thrown a curve" into those plans, and homeless families have overwhelmed the state's 2,000 permanent shelter beds. An estimated 1,000 homeless families reside in a motel room on any given night in the Bay State.
Danvers, he said, is not the only place where homeless families live in motels, but it is one of the places where they are concentrated.
"This economy has really done a number on everybody," Hailer said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or eforman@salemnews.com.
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