Here’s a roundup of this week’s news on low-income children, youth and their families:

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released it’s annual assessment of homelessness in the U.S. The report found that since 2010 homelessness among individuals declined nearly 4.9 percent, homelessness among family households declined by 8.2 percent, and Veteran homelessness declined by 24.2 percent. Despite the overall decrease, New York City experienced one of the largest one-year increases in homelessness between 2012 and 2013. Read the full report, including state-specific information, here.

This week, The American Prospect highlighted an innovative program in New York that is helping low-income families put money aside to pay down debts and cover unexpected expenses.

Calendar

• November 21 - Education Funders Research Initiative will release its third white paper “Building Blocks for Better Schools: How the next mayor can prepare New York’s students for college and careers.” Watch the live stream discussion of priorities for the next mayor and chancellor.
• November 25 - The New York City Council will hold an oversight hearing on Hunger in NYC. The Hearing is a joint effort of the Committee on General Welfare, the Committee on Women’s Issues and the Committee on Health.
• December 4 - Choosing Leaders for a New Era. Join the Center for New York City Affairs for a post-election roundtable discussion including behind-the-scenes stories direct from the campaign teams and analysts. This forum will examine the mayoral, comptroller and public advocate races. RSVP here.