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Homeless Children Succeed Using Innovative Mentoring In Southern California

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This article is presented in partnership with CA Lottery.

Whether long term or temporary, homelessness is devastating for children. Imagine trying to learn and excel at school when you are living in chaos and filled with worry about your life and family's future. The lack of stability and routine, coupled with an escalation in anxiety and depression levels, are hardly a recipe for student success.

According to the National Center on Family Homelessness at American Institutes for Research, the state of California has a disproportionately high number of homeless children, and when compared to most of the U.S., California ranks close to the bottom in child homelessness rates at number 48 out of 50. Due to a variety of factors which may include high home foreclosures and teen birth rates, Southern California, which has the second largest school district in the country, has been especially hard hit by this phenomenon.

Seeing What Others Didn't

Southern California's homeless children are largely invisible. Around 60,000 are enrolled in Los Angles County Schools but live in places like shelters, group homes, trailer camps, motels, cars or even the streets. This makes it practically impossible to get to school every day, let alone achieve when in attendance. Many kids are filled with shame and try to hide their reality from classmates. Others are filled with anger and fear, largely masked by belligerence, or toughness. As early as 1993, the plight of these hidden children was unmasked by Agnes Stevens, a retired school teacher who had witnessed the struggles and determination of so many of them during her career. Stevens started tutoring homeless children in a Santa Monica park. From this small effort a movement slowly began, and in turn, School on Wheels was formed.

Filling in the Gaps

Working in partnership with Southern California's public school districts, School on Wheels is a non-profit working to fill the gaps and provide enhanced educational opportunities for homeless children from kindergarten through grade 12.

"All schools have a homeless aid officer who notifies us when a child is identified as homeless at school. Our information is also provided to families when they move into any shelter within the region where we provide services. Despite all our efforts, around 30 percent of all homeless children are not enrolled in school," explains Sinead Chilton, a staffer at School on Wheels.

The organization works with children in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

School on Wheels provides mentoring and one-to-one tutoring services both in and out of school.

"It can be hard to find conducive places for learning, but we're flexible," says Chilton, whose volunteers teach kids in locations as diverse as Starbucks, McDonalds and libraries as well as in afterschool classrooms. "We also provide on-line tutoring so people as far away as New York can connect and tutor a homeless kid in Los Angeles."

School on Wheels also runs a learning center on Skid Row, which provides a safe haven as well as educational assistance for thousands of kids year round. The organization also helps families with assistance in school registrations, locating lost records and provides backpacks, uniforms and school supplies as needed.

Success Stories

School on Wheels can't end homelessness but it can alleviate the stress and chaos homeless kids live with. Through one-on-one relationships and educational programs, children thrive, learning to believe in themselves and to trust that they matter. Thousands of children have benefited greatly since the organization's inception, going on to graduate from school and pursue advanced degrees in college and beyond. The organization also offers a scholarship program which boasts graduates from colleges and universities, including Harvard.

Corey Whelan is a freelance writer in New York. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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