by Jeremy Moule

A new report from The Children’s Agenda shows that over the past two academic years, 38 percent of Rochester City School District students either changed addresses, switched schools, or left the district, a rate much higher than their peers in the suburbs and across the state.

That’s a sign that thousands of city students are experiencing housing instability, the report said. Research has repeatedly shown that children who don’t have a stable place to live struggle academically, have lower graduation rates, are at greater risk for mental health and behavioral problems, and are in poorer health.

“Children need routine; they need a sense of order in their life,” said Pete Nabozny, the report’s author and policy director for the nonprofit advocacy group. “When you’re a child, particularly a young child, the world is new to you. There’s so many things you don’t quite understand yet and you need some predictability in order to get a comfort with yourself and your surroundings in your life as you’re developing and growing.”

The report, “A Place to Call Home,” calls on state officials to enact several programs and policies aimed at “limiting the harm housing instability causes to children” by helping parents pay for safe, quality housing and other necessary household costs.