HOPE

Homeless Definition

Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

• Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings

• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;

• Migratory children…who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described above.

Guiding Questions

• Guiding Questions to Help Determine Fixed, Regular, and Adequate

MJUSD HOPE Program

MJUSD HOPE functions as an advocate for homeless children and youth and their families. We work with school sites to protect the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness allowing them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

Students in homeless situations have the right to:

• Go to school no matter where they live or how long they have lived there.

• Get help enrolling and succeeding in school.

• Stay at the school they went to before becoming homeless or whatever school they were enrolled in last ( “school of origin”).

• Get transportation to their school of origin.

• Go to the local school in the area where they are living.

• Immediately enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in school activities, even if students do not have a parent with them or documents such as proof of residency, immunization records, other medical records, school records, or other documents.

• Have the same opportunity to meet the same high academic achievement standards as all students.

• HOPE works to remove barriers to education. Through grant funding and generous community support, we provide: school supplies, clothes, shoes, and hygiene items. We arrange for home to school transportation and refer families to community health, mental health, dental, and other health and welfare services.