Temperatures are dropping at night and warming shelters are starting to open up for homeless populations. For youth experiencing homelessness, it can be hard to navigate resources.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education says the number of students experiencing homelessness jumped from 40,000 in the 21/22 school year to almost 47,000 in the 22/23 school year. That’s a 7,000 student increase.

“It’s not enough to just notice,” said Rep. Gina Curry (D-Delaware). "We need action.”

Lawmakers recently held a public hearing on the issue to educate on how this impacts students.

“Even just the identification can be isolating. They feel separated from their peers,” Quadirah Locus said, the program supervisor for Synergy in Schools— an organization that helps youth link up with resources. “Also with that, they don't know that they're eligible for support or services.”

Youth homelessness can be sleeping on the streets. It can also be couch surfing, hotel stays, or families doubling up.

Jada Guiste is studying psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. While now a junior in college with a stable life, she spoke at a recent press conference about her experience with homelessness in high school.

Her family moved around a lot when she was younger. Then in 9th grade, they moved into her cousins’ small, unfinished basement.

“It was me, my mom, my two brothers, and my dog. The winters were unbearable due to the lack of heating and the environment was pretty depressing due to a lack of windows,” Guiste said. "Eventually my mother turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with these hardships. This lead to my family getting kicked out of my cousins basement, and we all had to split up. My aunt let me stay with her a little bit, but that didn’t last long because of her daughter’s mental health problems."

“That led to me, a 16 year old, alone, figuring out where to go by myself.” Guiste said.

For Guiste, friends opened their homes and teachers kept her connected to resources and opportunities.

Lawmakers emphasized how education impacts homelessness. Youth without a stable home life in turn cannot consistently get to school, and then can struggle with focus and other behaviors while at school.

“Children need a warm, safe, comforting place where they know life is stable in order to excel in school,” Curry said. "When you do not have that, the levels of anxiety and instability raise up in your heart and your spirit. And it causes a lot more issues than we can even imagine for children.”

Educators trained to recognize signs of home life struggles can in turn be part of the solution. That can be practical help— like schools offering students who need it space to store their belongings. Schools can also link students to programs that specialize in helping students with homelessness.

Many homeless shelters do not serve anyone under the age of 18.

Several bills brought forward by lawmakers would encourage more study of the issue in the state. Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster), who helped organize the recent advocacy day, said there are also federal funds coming to an end for programs that help homeless populations. In addition to short term solutions, he says there needs to be focus on the causes for increased homelessness.

“The primary driver of homelessness and housing instability is the ridiculous increase in the cost of housing, and it makes every situation that much less stable.”

Guiste says awareness and education for communities at large can help students in need ask for help.

“I hid basically everything from everyone,” Guiste said. “So just knowing that there are resources out there and that there are people that want to help already— and that's the big thing. Like, you shouldn't be embarrassed of your situation.”