RPS receives grant to support homeless students
(ABC 6 News) – School can be tough for many kids, but especially for ones that don’t have a roof over their heads.
To help, the Minnesota Department of Education has awarded Rochester schools $43,000 from the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance grant to ensure these students have the resources they need to keep them from falling through the cracks.
“If you don’t have a roof over your head, it’s pretty difficult to focus on school or anything else,” said Nicole Wibstad, the new Students in Transition McKinney-Veto Liaison with RPS.
Wibstad has worked for RPS for 12 years in a social work capacity, but in her new role, she’ll be connecting homeless students and their families to community resources.
“Trying to get resources to incoming families plus existing families, while rents are high and housing is scarce is a challenge,” said Wibstad.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance grant is funding given annually to help students who meet the educational definition of homelessness from falling behind their peers. The money is given to state education departments, who disperse funds to as many school districts as possible based on the number of, or percentage of students experiencing homelessness.
In Rochester, the need for these resources is at peak levels.
“On a weekly basis, we are in touch with three to five families seeking help because they are finding themselves in a homeless situation,” said Major Candace Voeller with the Rochester Salvation Army.
Over the summer, the district has already identified 100 new students as having unstable housing. With students just now returning to the classroom, Wibstad predicts that number will exceed last year’s total of 600 homeless students.
“We have families calling us in tears right now, panicking about their student starting the first day of school,” said Wibstad.
When a family is struggling to put a roof over their children’s head and food on the table, providing even the most basic school supplies gives them one less thing to worry about.
“A student showing up to school after they’ve spent the night sleeping in their car, and they may not have the required items at school, even just to receive those items is a relief,” said Wibstad.
RPS and community partners like the Salvation Army strive to show students a brighter future is possible for them.
“We want to see children succeed. We don’t want to see children caught in the cycle of poverty,” said Voeller.
Though child homelessness can’t be solved overnight, with all these community resources, there is hope.
“All I can really say is it’s overwhelming the need,” said Wibstad. “We need everyone to lean in together to help meet student and family needs, we can’t do it alone.”
If your family is experiencing housing insecurity, you can reach out to the following organizations for help:
You can find more information on RPS Students in Transition services here.
A list of the designated Homeless Liaison for each school district in Minnesota can be found here.