Last school year, California public schools reached over 187,000 homeless students.

The McKinney-Vento program is a federally funded initiative designed to “ensure educational rights and protections for homeless children and youth,” according to the National Center for Homeless Education.

It operates through referrals and identifies students not only through official records but also by connecting with those who lack a fixed address. This encompasses a wide range of students from those living in cars to those on the streets.

The McKinney-Vento program offers various forms of assistance to these students, including food distribution, transportation services for elementary school students and hotel vouchers.

Heather Smith, one of the dedicated community workers in San Juan, is in charge of the “west end” of the district, which contains schools like Arden Middle and Rio. More than 1,600 students are actively enrolled in the McKinney-Vento program across the four ends of the district.

Part of being a community worker means collaborating closely with other departments, such as the foster department, attendance department and refugee programs.

One of the challenges the program faces is limited funding. With just $150,000 in funding for the San Juan program, it’s a struggle finding money to go around. The majority of this money goes towards the salaries of the five district community workers.

Due to the lack of funding, donations play a crucial role in boosting the program’s resources. The support from local community groups that contribute snacks and toiletries for the students makes a substantial difference.

However, as Smith acknowledges, there is always room for improvement. The COVID-19 pandemic posed massive challenges to families leading to an increase in homelessness.

Despite this there has been a decline in student enrollment in the program, which, as Smith pointed out, runs contrary to the increased need that should have arisen during the pandemic.

Hotel vouchers can be a challenge in themselves. “

There is no actual set time on how long it takes to get hotel voucher assistance,” Smith said. “A family will only qualify for hotel vouchers from the Welfare Office if they are considered unsheltered and receiving CALWORKS assistance. But it can typically take anywhere from one to two weeks to get these vouchers going.”

Once received, these vouchers are far from permanent.

“They typically only provide them for 10 days at most,” Smith said. “Families only qualify for this assistance once a year.”