**Children in Extended-Stay Hotels Face Health and Social Challenges, Say Advocates**
**STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.** — Sean Deas, principal of Dunaire Elementary School, has witnessed the struggles of children living in extended-stay hotels. Around 10% of his students, just east of Atlanta, reside in such accommodations.
These children, Deas explained, are often exposed to violence, exhibit aggression or anxiety from living in cramped spaces, and face food insecurity due to the lack of kitchen facilities in many hotel rooms.
“Social trauma is the biggest challenge,” Deas said. “We hear a lot about sleep problems.” To address these issues, Deas has implemented a schoolwide program that includes counseling services, a food pantry, and protocols for handling students who fall asleep in class.
“Beyond teaching, there’s a social aspect,” he added. “We have to find ways to support the families as well.”
Extended-stay hotels are often a last resort for low-income families struggling to find housing. In 2022, over 100,000 students nationwide lived in such hotels, according to the Department of Education, though experts believe this is an undercount. Children living in hotels are classified as homeless under federal law, and in some Atlanta-area counties, up to 40% of homeless students live in extended-stay hotels.
With rising rents, increasing evictions, and limited access to federal public housing, extended-stay hotels are becoming a more common long-term housing option. However, like other forms of homelessness, hotel living can worsen physical and mental health problems for children, according to advocates and researchers.
In the Atlanta area, inspections of extended-stay hotels have uncovered issues such as poor ventilation, insect infestations, mold, and other health hazards. Children living in these hotels are also at risk of witnessing or experiencing crime and gun violence. The growing reliance on extended-stay hotels highlights the lack of affordable housing in the U.S., experts say.
“This crisis is having lifelong consequences,” said Sarah Saadian of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “We need significant federal resources to build more housing and bridge the gap between rents and wages.”
Evictions often push families into hotels, where they can become trapped. Many landlords refuse to rent to individuals with eviction records, even when the tenant is not at fault, said Joy Monroe, founder and CEO of the Single Parent Alliance & Resource Center (SPARC), a nonprofit in metro Atlanta that has helped hundreds of families transition from hotels to apartments or rental homes.
Black women and other women of color, often with children, are disproportionately affected by evictions and are more likely to end up in extended-stay hotels, advocates say. Some families also flee to these hotels to escape domestic violence.
Hotels provide immediate shelter without requiring security deposits, application fees, or background checks. While some higher-end options exist, the average rate for an economy-class extended-stay room was $56.68 per night in early 2024, according to the Highland Group, a hotel research firm. This amounts to over $1,700 per month, a steep cost for many low-income families.
While hotels offer respite from sleeping in cars or on the streets, they are not ideal for raising children, said Michael Bryant, CEO of New Life Community Alliance, a South Dekalb nonprofit that helps families move from hotels to homes.
Children living in hotels often fall behind on vaccinations and may end up in emergency rooms due to delayed care, said Gary Kirkilas, a pediatrician in Phoenix who works with homeless children and families. Around 75% of the children he sees with unstable housing have at least one developmental delay, and many experience emotional and behavioral issues.
Families like Tanazia Scott’s, who has been living in extended-stay hotels with her three children for months, struggle with the emotional toll. “They feel depressed and upset,” Scott said.
Kassandra Norman, 58, and her two daughters were forced into hotels after an eviction. For three months, they slept in a car outside a convenience store. “It’s hard to do homework in a car and in the hotel,” said Kazuri Taylor, Norman’s 19-year-old daughter.
Some hotels prohibit children from playing outside, adding to the stress. Yvonne Thomas, 45, said her family was evicted from a DeKalb County extended-stay hotel for allowing her children to play in the parking lot. “They put us out for nothing,” she said.
At Dunaire Elementary, more than a dozen students live at the Haven Hotel, an extended-stay property that has been cited for failing to meet basic safety standards. Health inspections revealed roach and spider infestations, and residents reported being charged $1 for a roll of toilet paper. The hotel’s owner and manager could not be reached for comment.
“No one is talking about these families,” said Sue Sullivan, a community advocate with the Motel to Home coalition in Atlanta, who delivers toys, food, and toiletries to hotel residents.
A February health inspection at another DeKalb County hotel found poor ventilation, insect infestations, and mold. In May, two people were fatally shot at the same location.
Children who witness violence can develop anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, said Charles Moore, director of the Urban Health Initiative at Emory University School of Medicine. “They can feel emotional aftershocks,” Moore said.
Shutting down these hotels, however, could harm families due to the severe shortage of affordable housing and the lack of federal renter protections, said Terri Lewinson, an associate professor at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Extended-stay hotels provide a “low-barrier option for families who have no other choices,” she said.
To address the housing crisis, some local governments and nonprofits have taken creative steps. In Seattle, King County officials purchased hotels and converted them into affordable housing. In metro Atlanta, organizations like SPARC and United Way’s Motel to Home offer financial assistance to help families transition into apartments.
In DeKalb County, where Dunaire Elementary is located, more than a third of the 1,300 homeless students live in hotels, according to Commissioner Ted Terry. “I hope we can rescue the children,” he said. “It’s not a safe environment for them.”
Advocates are calling for more affordable housing and stronger renter protections to prevent evictions. The federal government has failed to invest in maintaining public housing, and legislation passed 25 years ago effectively prohibits the construction of new public housing.
In Georgia, evictions are “extremely fast, easy, and cheap,” said Taylor Shelton, an associate professor at Georgia State University, who studies social inequalities in urban spaces. “The playing field is tilted heavily toward landlords.”
Under these conditions, breaking the cycle of poverty is difficult, said Jamie Rush, a senior staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Most parents want their kids in a safe, stable home,” Rush said. “You can’t budget your way out of poverty.”
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*Healthbeat is a nonprofit newsroom covering public health, published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News.*
Source: lailluminator.com