Clark County's homeless students could reach 7,000

CCSW just blogged about the fact that the number of homeless children in the Las Vegas Valley are in the hundreds. Now we get word that the figure could be in the thousands.

It is astounding as it is criminal.

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The Clark County School District's enrollment has dipped to 309,000 students from 311,000 students a year ago, but one segment of the student population is still growing, much to the dismay of educators and social workers alike.

The number of homeless students in local public schools could reach about 8,000 by the end of the current school year, about 2,000 more than last year, said Myra Berkovits, the district coordinator for the federally funded Homeless Outreach Program Education, HOPE.

"I think it's a perfect storm between job loss, foreclosure and bad luck," said Berkovits in explaining the increase.

As struggling families swap their large homes for small apartments, teenagers are getting forced out of the nest, said Tim Mullin, director of operations for the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. But being forced to leave home usually strengthens the desire homeless teens have to stay in school. They crave the routine or structure it gives their otherwise chaotic lives, Mullin said.

"They sleep on bleachers in front of the high school, because they want to be at school when the bell rings," he said.

Separately, an article in the Scholastic Administrator magazine says school staff are being trained on tell-tale signs of homeless children. This article lists many of the services CCSD provides in terms of outreach.


Administrator:

Older students remain an under-identified homeless population. The Clark County district estimates—and social service agencies agree—that there are thousands of additional students in the county who meet the definition of homeless but have not yet been identified, particularly in the upper grades.

To help address these unmet needs, this fall the district will try out drop-in centers at several middle and high schools, offering students a chance to do their schoolwork on computers, get clothing and food, and have access to counseling.

Kathleen Boutin, founder and executive director of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, says thousands of high school students are “couch surfers,” staying a few nights at a time with family or friends, but without anything close to a permanent residence.

The Nevada’s Partnership’s own drop-in center sees about 300 to 400 individuals each month, including a large number of students who come in regularly for food and clothing and to do homework. She praised the district’s plan to focus on a demographic group that is too often invisible.

“These kids are academically interested,” Boutin said. “They know education is their ticket out of homelessness and poverty.”

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E.C. :)