HOMELESS EDUCATION

The Stewart B. McKinney Grant that has been awarded to the Scottsbluff Public Schools for the past ten years has made a big difference in the lives of many Panhandle students.

These students share a common temporary definition of ‘homeless’ during the time they are residents of the Panhandle Youth Shelter and Domestic Violence Shelter – shelters that provide a home for youth from the eleven Panhandle counties and occasionally other youth from across Nebraska and out-of-state. 

The broad goal of the program is to provide an educational program and educational support to homeless youth in this area.  These youth need to maintain involvement and contact with education and the Public School System to continue to “fit in” and establish a pattern of learning to be successful.  Shelter youth need extra support and help to maintain an interest in school and to be able to succeed, because of the social and emotional problems associated with homelessness.  Over the past ten years, evaluations have pointed out that the stability of an educational program and a connection to school helps overcome the trauma faced by youths.  The part-time position of teacher/counselor at the shelter, provided by the McKinney Grant, allows the students to have one area, education, remain stable in their lives, while they overcome the trauma of a runaway/homeless status.