Junior and Senior High School Trained Counselors accepting homeless hygiene bags on behalf of the students
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!
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, Inc is working with your local school district counselors and will grant scholarships to those selected kids to further their college education as well.