Homelessness rates rise with America’s fragile economy–with that, Neenah strives to ensure that each school year, district students without permanent night-time residency receive the resources the community has to offer.

The nationally regarded MicKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides states with regulations, according to the National Center for Homeless Education. This act requires that all school districts have a Homeless Liaison in charge of providing help to hurting children and families in their district.

Mrs. Christine Christensen fills this role for N.J.S.D., giving students access to the resources NHS and the Fox Valley have for them. In terms of the assistance NHS provides, Christensen said that she helps work out means of transportation for students, and ensure safety for teens left on their own. She holds the Orbit, Neenah’s school community closet, in high regard — saying it provides an abundance of immediate health and hygiene needs. With the aid of counselors and community programs, the schools can focus on a bigger, often more important, aspect — long-term care rooted in physical and emotional safety.

The bountiful resources continue to grow, but they only have potential when staff can identify homeless students. While a common idea of a child sleeping on the streets clearly fits the definition, McKinney-Vento lists many other scenarios in which the government considers a child homeless –such as living in a motel or co-living with another family. Recognizing children in need of help is often difficult, like creating the first spark of a fire; once it finally catches, it generates much-needed assistance for the families.

Christensen works closely with liaisons from cities in the surrounding area to ensure that students that migrate between districts get the help needed to stay in their “school of origin.” America’s Promise tells that homeless students are more than 87 percent more likely not to finish school than children with a permanent place of residence.

For children in families that bounce from place to place, the classroom holds the only sense of consistency in their lives. To combat the obvious effects of suffering grades and a lack of emotional support, the Homeless Liaisons around the area work hard to keep students in one district.

“If they can stay in their classroom where they know their students, they know their teachers, they know their school — that familiarity can go a long way in helping them succeed at school,” Christensen said.

The children who use these sources of help walk the halls of schools everywhere; Christensen feels that the best way to reach out is to let the community know schools are here to help the students. Bringing awareness to the subject of homelessness in schools helps mend the gap between those in need and the help communities can provide — the first step in assisting students in area schools.