By Charlene Welch, Council for the Homeless

A high school senior had been on their own since they were 15 years old. “My family broke up when my dad was deported and my mom abandoned me in an apartment.” Thankfully, with support from the Housing Student Stability Program (HSSP), this student was able to stay in school and graduate with his class, and pursue plans to attend college with interest in the medical field. HSSP helped find housing and pay for graduation expenses. An anonymous donor paid for a class ring for the student, who was very touched by the gesture. The CFTH staff member who worked with the student reports, “They were extremely thankful and happy to be able to walk across the stage with their classmates. Students experiencing homelessness may be unable to participate in school activities and rites of passage. This was an amazing process.”

The HSSP Grant funds local efforts to stabilize McKinney-Vento eligible youth and families, which encompasses those who are living in a place not meant to be lived in and doubled-up or “couch surfing.” The Washington Department of Commerce and the WA State office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction funded the award. During the 2017-2018 school year, Council for the Homeless worked in partnership with Battle Ground Public Schools, Evergreen Public Schools, and Vancouver Public Schools to assist 107 households (429 people), including 25 unaccompanied Clark County youth. Overall, 80% of the households assisted improved their housing stability and ability to maintain their housing into the future. Others were connected to more intensive programs to address their housing barriers. Of the 25unaccompanied youth assisted, 24 secured stable housing.The remaining student continues to receive navigation support.

CFTH staff partnered with each school district’s Family Community Resource Coordinators to help meet each household’s basic needs and to provide housing and service navigation, which included landlord negotiation, employment resources, and one time financial assistance to eliminate barriers to housing (such as paying for short-term childcare, transportation or move-in fees.)

In addition to youth on their own, families with children also stabilized their housing with HSSP assistance.  A teen living with siblings and an extended family member in an unstable situation was so thrilled to be in a home with his family. The teen said the bedroom wall and closet were the most important part of the new bedroom. “This is because I can hang a poster on the wall and my clothes in the closet for the first time ever.”