What does it mean when a child has to make themselves invisible just to get through a school day?
Clothing Insecurity is often called a hidden challenge. That’s because kids and families work hard to hide it.
I had the chance to talk about this with Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D. on the Leading Equity podcast — and it’s now live.
We talked about clothing insecurity as a form of invisibility. How it shows up in classrooms as chronic absences, a child who stops raising their hand, a student who quietly disappears. And how, at its most extreme, it means a child who doesn’t come to school at all.
The families navigating this are strong, resilient, and doing everything they can for their kids. They need someone to show up for them. And here’s what I know: this problem is solvable. There is something each of us can do, from wherever we sit.
At Cradles to Crayons, we work through hundreds of trusted community partners to get clothing and essentials directly to kids in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. But this work can happen everywhere. Clothing closets. Uniform swaps. PTO drives that give parents a way to redirect clothes their kids have outgrown. Student-led drives at the middle and high school level, tapping into something young people already care about: sustainability, community, and each other.
Christine Morin
CEO
Cradles to Crayons
