Narrative
Me and my younger brother, Joseph. Taken July 4th, 2018 in Neenah, WI, where we grew up.
When I was in fifth grade, my younger brother, father and I found ourselves at a homeless shelter located on the other side of our city under the jurisdiction of a different school district. In a matter of a few days, I found that I had lost my home and personal space, most of my belongings, and I thought, access to my friends and support system. I was out of school for four consecutive school days while my dad worked with a social worker to obtain transportation to and from school, fill out paperwork to enroll us in the free breakfast/lunch program, and obtain our permanent housing. We spent a year in the homeless family assistance program where they provided us interim housing while helping us find permanent housing.
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Although our permanent housing didn't end up staying in Appleton, instead moving to Neenah, we were able to finish out the school year where we were originally. Our new schools provided to us the same level of assistance in terms of food and support, but we were also given new school supplies and our school counselor was able to obtain vouchers for local thrift stores to furnish our new home and get new clothes.
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What I didn't know then that I do know now was that the McKinney-Vento homelessness policy was to thank for our being able to maintain a semblance of stability and also have our basic needs met. I'm grateful for such a policy to exist, which is why I chose to research it further.
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Besides my own personal experience, I've seen this policy in action during my practicum experiences and my time with the PTA. Many homeless students receive aid in the form of free meals and access to a variance of The BackPack Program, where food is sent home with them to ensure they're fed over the weekend. They're also provided reasonable transportation to and from their school of origin and access to before and after school care.
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As an educator, I believe it is important to know what kind of services and support can be offered to our students that are experiencing homelessness. Having access to this knowledge helps us to better support them by ensuring they receive the necessary assistance. It also gives us the means to educate our parents who may otherwise not realize there is support that is offered through the school.
