Homeless Children Matter

By Tara Turrentine, Homeless Youth Coordinator, El Dorado County Office of Education

El Dorado County Child Support Services has selected Homeless Children Matter as the beneficiary of fundraising efforts for the next annual CSDA training conference in May 2018.

Thank you for the opportunity to educate CSDA One Voice readers over this year about McKinney-Vento and how homeless students navigate our educational system. I look forward to meeting many of you in May at the conference, Dare to Dream Creating Opportunities. In May, you will have the opportunity to donate to this charity and create opportunities for homeless children!

In El Dorado County, our LCSA staff was shocked to find out that almost 1,000 children were identified as McKinney-Vento in our county in the 2016-2017 school year. You may be shocked to find out that 1,386 children in Humboldt County were identified in school as homeless last school year. I think of Disneyland when I envision Orange County—are you shocked to know that 27,119 children in Orange County experienced homelessness last school year? In Fresno County, 5,088 students were without housing at some point last school year. San Bernardino County, at the southern end of our state, had 34,363 children experiencing homelessness last year. Nearly 25% of homeless children enrolled in public schools nationwide live in California!

How can a LCSA help? Reaching out to a McKinney-Vento Liaison at a County Office of Education can create collaboration between your LCSA and your County Office of Education. The liaisons are busy people so be sure to explain that you want to help and ask what homeless students in your county need. For contact information, you can find your county’s liaison here https://goo.gl/KZgofS. Perhaps your office could organize a sock drive, get donations and create hygiene kits, or have your office adopt a family during a holiday season…dare to dream!

I am grateful for the partnership with the El Dorado Community Foundation and El Dorado County Child Support Services for the creation of the Homeless Children Matter Fund to be selected as this year’s CSDA charity. A special thank you to Don Semon, Director of El Dorado County Child Support Services, for his vision and this opportunity to provide awareness and support for children experiencing homelessness.

For more information or to arrange a donation, please contact Ginger Harms at 530-642-7238 or ginger.harms@edcgov.us