Adolescent Project 2020 is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization determined to help the ever increasing number of homeless children attending school to stay in school and achieve a high school degree or equivalent.  We work alongside The Public School Districts and their onsite counselors throughout the U.S. by supplying the underprivileged kids with Personal Hygiene Packs containing daily essentials such as toiletries, dental care, feminine products, clothing, deodorant, food and helpful resource guides.

Unfortunately, these kids are bullied and made fun of by their peers because of their appearance and body odor, consequently their grades suffer and in many cases they drop out of school.  Additionally, many military families face hardships after leaving the military, creating a real community issue to help support these military adolescent teens who are homeless.

It benefits everyone when homeless students prevail. When they do not, the cycle of poverty continues. The whole process is anonymous and confidential, for everyone involved to avoid embarrassment and harassment.

According to the Department of Education, last year was a record HIGH for homeless kids in schools, up 4.7 percent from the previous year and over 10.4 in some areas. According to new data by the Department of Education, more than 1.5 million students in the United States in grades K–12 were homeless in the 2011–12 school year—a record high and chances are they are not in the places that you would expect, they are in your community!

San Diego Homeless Student nearly reach 23,000

One of the few qualifiers for the School District to accept students into AP2020 is that these children do not have a permanent address which means they do not have a bed or space to call their own. They often sleep in cars or move from motel to motel.

Experts say that the numbers may even be higher than what you see here, due to irregular class attendance and changing addresses homeless kids are difficult to track. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth says that two trends are responsible for these increasing numbers: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in severe poverty in the U.S.

Many schools already have homeless education coordinators, and more districts are hiring them. These educators help students access what many of us consider life’s basics—there are more than 15,000 of these liaisons in schools in the United States. Under the 1987 McKinney-Vento Act all schools are required to provide homeless services, but don’t have the funds to do so.

The country’s 15,000 school districts are partnering with community-based organizations like “AP2020” to deal with their homeless issues. Still others are training administrators, teachers, counselors, and bus drivers on how to best serve homeless kids and meet their needs.

“These trends are heartbreaking yet entirely predictable, given the federal government’s chronic absenteeism in community discussions about affordable housing for low-income families,” Ruth White, executive director of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, said in a statement. “For over a decade Congress has ignored its responsibility to fill yawning gaps in housing options for low income families – and left America’s public schools to deal with the consequences.

AP2020 is working with your local school district counselor’s and will grant scholarships to those selected kids to further their college education as well.