School districts keep eye out for families in need of help during the pandemic

It’s not something people always think about in Johnson County, but housing insecurity exists in the community. Often the people who shoulder the consequences are kids — and that’s where programs such as Impact Olathe and Project Home come into play.

Programs like these are part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, passed into federal law in 1987.

According to the Family and Youth Services Bureau, the purpose of the act was to ensure “the right of students to go to school even when they are homeless or don’t have a permanent address.” That can include help with transportation, living situations and issues with official documents.

So far this year, the Olathe schools have seen fewer than 100 students need this type of assistance, but normally, it’s about 400 each year, said Heather Schoonover, community liaison with Impact Olathe. She said it could be due to limitations on evictions because of COVID.

In Shawnee Mission, the 2018-19 school year saw 321 students use Project Home, after a peak 445 in the 2013-14 school year.

Families don’t always know they can ask the school district for help, so district employees have to be on the lookout to let those who might need the program know about it.

“We train all employees, from a bus driver to a custodian to a principal, to identify, to be cognizant of students that might be having some residential or economic challenges,” Schoonover said.

The idea is to find families who are struggling before they get to the worst case scenario.

“We’ve heard of kids having to study in the laundry room of their apartment complex because their lights were off, and if we’d known, we could stand in front of the shut-off notice,” said David Aramovich, the McKinney-Vento homeless liaison for the Shawnee Mission School District.

It’s easier to help if they know about a housing problem before a family gets evicted or ends up in a shelter, he said.

Homeless doesn’t necessarily mean a family is living on the street or in their car. Students who qualify may be living in a shelter or a hotel or even couch surfing with another family.

“Some have to divide their family up,” Schoonover said, adding that there might not be enough room for each member in one location.

Tierra Bledsoe was living with relatives after losing her car and her job, but she wanted her 9-year-old daughter to be able to stay at her school in Overland Park. School personnel referred her to Project Home.

“I was really nervous about going to someone and explaining my situation to them. I’m not one to ask for help,” she said.

The experience was positive.

“They didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I explained my situation without being looked down upon. The circumstances were beyond my control, and it was a very, very helpful program. I’m so grateful,” Bledsoe said.

At the school level, they can make sure kids get free breakfast and lunch, waive the school fees and even get them a Wi-Fi hotspot.

However, the key function of both Impact Olathe and Project Home, beyond providing school help, is to connect families with community organizations that can provide resources to help them with other issues connected to housing insecurity.

In Olathe, a family might get laundry detergent from the Junior Service League, toiletries from the Starfish Project and food through the BackSnack program.

The programs also connect families with organizations providing additional resources, such as Jewish Family Services, Catholic Charities, El Centro, Workforce Partnership and the Olathe Housing Authority.

“There’s a bunch of social service agencies, and you want to have non-duplication of services. A family will say, ‘Here is my barrier.’ And in might be a connection to work or food stamps, healthcare or housing. Impact Olathe refers to the agencies, and the agencies take it from there and try to get them into stability,” Schoonover said.

Ultimately, they want the kids to have what they need to do well in school and help the families get into a position where they can sustain that independently.

Things are working out for Bledsoe, thanks to Project Home.

“(My daughter) got to stay in the school that she’s been in since kindergarten, and we actually had somewhere to call home,” she said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "School districts keep eye out for families in need of help during the pandemic."