Homelessness Awareness Week

Many people tend to fall blind sighted at the frequency of homelessness around them, and fail to realize the impact that it has on the people they see every day.

The Homer-Center School district takes this problem very seriously, and works hard to find shelter and resources for students and families in need. Whether it be through food drives or clothing donations: the school is constantly there to help students who are going through this experience.

None of this, however, can be put into effect unless students can comfortably talk about their experiences. The identification step of this process can be the most difficult step depending on the social aspect of a school’s atmosphere.

When asked how the school diffuses and/or prevents students from dealing with homelessness, Mathew Rodkey, the school’s Vice Principal, and Homeless Liaison, addresses how “One thing we really have in our school is that a lot of kids can name at least one adult that they feel comfortable with, that they can tell something to.” This ensures that students will reach out to at least one trusted adult if they need help. He continues by stating how they then follow the McKinney-Vento Act if a problem arises, in order to establish the student as homeless, and talk through steps to resolve this problem.

The school also conducts many activities to spread awareness through the student body to help students who are experiencing homelessness seek recreation through not only their trusted adults, but their peers as well. The Student Council, for example, does a food drive around the holiday season to give out to homeless families, and The Friends of Rachel club does occasional “Rachel’s Closet” events that allows students to take home clothes donated by locals for free. The school also has an established Homelessness Awareness week from November 15-19 to help spread the message across the board.

Homelessness can sometimes be inevitable in a person’s life. But when others come together to help, a tough experience can become a less unfortunate one.

Published 11/15/21