Ronald E. Hallett: Educational Experiences of Hidden Homeless Teenagers: Living Doubled-Up

In Educational Experience of Hidden Homeless Teenagers: Living Doubled-Up, Ronald Hallett examines how the educational experiences of a subgroup of homeless adolescents are affected by their living situations. Hallett focuses on a specific subgroup of homeless adolescents who are “sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.” 42 U.S.C. § 11434(a) (also known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act). Hallett defines these adolescents as “living doubled-up.” While these adolescents and their families do not identify themselves as homeless, Congress has recognized that these individuals walk a fine line between homeless and housed. As Hallet (2012, p. 4) notes, adolescents “living doubled-up” represent 60 % of homeless youth. Hallett chose to study this group because it is the least studied group of homeless adolescents, this sort of living situation is often a precursor to other forms of residential instability and part of a cycle of homelessness, and this type of living situation is in a gray area between housed and homeless, which goes against the American Dream. An important distinction is made between a residence, i.e., an apartment or house, and a household, a family unit such as a mother and her children. Therefore, a doubled-up residence is made up of several households. Hallett reveals the tensions present between households sharing a residence and how this tension affects the educational experiences of four adolescents. …