Thank you for your editorial "Help for homeless students" (Aug. 23). This is an issue that needs to be publicized and discussed daily until serious solutions are found.
One way people can understand the problem in Maryland is through more accurate statistics on the number of homeless children in the state. Unfortunately, the figures you quote from government sources probably understate the extent of the problem.
Many parents, for example, are fearful of reporting that they are homeless for fear that Child Protection Services will take their children away from them. Secondly, many parents do not know that even though they may be temporarily staying at a relative's house, under federal guidelines they are still considered to be homeless, just as are people living in cars, in abandoned buildings and on the streets.
Underestimating the problem means that cities and counties often do not get enough federal funding to assist all the people who need help. As a city and a state, we must do more to provide the services to these children and families to make sure that they can find permanent homes and become productive members of society.
The Baltimore City school system is doing a wonderful job reaching out to the community to make sure that homeless children are cared for. I am pleased to be a partner with the Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in that effort, but we cannot leave everything to the schools. We must get accurate figures of the number of homeless children in the state so that we can have proper funding to help them.
Christian H. Wilson, Baltimore
The writer is executive director of Heart's Place Services Inc., a homeless shelter in Baltimore.