'All of a sudden, your future can look different'

From county to county, the needs of students and their families experiencing housing challenges or homelessness may present differently, but whether a student in Kootenai County or Shoshone County needs support, protections from the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act are there to create a safety net in their school district.

In the Coeur d’Alene School District, 428 have been identified throughout the current school year. Last year, 550 students were identified overall. 

Kellogg School District has a smaller population of about 1,100 overall and has had about 76 students identified as needing McKinney-Vento support this year. Last year, Kellogg had about 87 students identified by the district.

Students and families facing housing crises often don’t look like the stereotypical depiction of homelessness without a roof over their heads. Instead, living conditions for families experiencing housing crises may look like couch surfing or staying in a hotel for a short stint between residences.

The National Center for Homeless Education defines terms related to homelessness as being doubled‐up and living with another family, using hotels or motels as temporary housing also are common factors, shelters or transitional housing. 

In the 2023 Panhandle Health Community Assessment, Shoshone County was noted as having proportionately more people in group quarters compared to the other Panhandle districts and overall in the state.

Unsheltered living situations include living in abandoned buildings, cars, trailers, parks, or campgrounds. Unaccompanied youth can also crop up when students, usually teens,  are no longer living with parents or guardians but want to stay in a school district.

In Shoshone County, as the homeless liaison for Kellogg School District Nathan Whatcott said, there has been an alarming rate of temporary trailers families in the district have been using for emergency housing.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” Whatcott said.

A common trend that’s emerged as housing markets in both counties have been experiencing increasing costs is the number of families doubling-up or even tripling up in rare cases. 

At Lakeland Joint School District, McKinney-Vento liaison Norma Needs said often families need assistance after a parent suffers an injury and loses a job or the rising cost of rent pushes families out of their previous housing or grandparents become the primary caregivers after family emergencies.

She hopes people broaching the topic of temporary housing or homelessness will use compassion to guide the conversation.

“None of it is self-imposed,” Needs said.

Coeur d’Alene School District

In the Coeur d’Alene School District, Heather Somers, the director of federal programs and assessments, said the majority of students qualifying for McKinney-Vento are doubled up or living with family members, usually grandparents. 

“The scenarios include eviction, displacement, divorce, job loss, and most commonly, parents who are incarcerated and/or deceased from drug use,” Somers said.

One of the biggest challenges has been alerting families they qualify for McKinney-Vento support and there is assistance already in place to help.

In addition to needing stable housing, supplemental food, clothing, hygiene products, and often transportation are the main needs arising in housing crises for students and their families.

“Students experiencing homelessness have the right to attend their school of origin regardless of where they lay their head at night,” Somers said.

Since children are spending a big chunk of the day in school keeping the process as stable as possible with transportation needs is critical and the district tries to reduce strain on the process so it can function with as few interruptions or hiccups as possible.

Coeur d'Alene School District receives $20,000 per year from a federal McKinney-Vento grant and $2,000 from Title I that helps fund a portion of the transportation costs. Last year, transportation costs were over $46,000. The district uses general funds to cover the difference.

Kellogg School District

Doing regular check-ins with Kellogg district staff has been the best way Nathan Whatcott has found to keep the MicKinney-Vento numbers as accurate as possible.

The district has about $4,800 a year to help with student needs between different grants, but Whatcott pointed out that the money doesn’t always cover everything and the limited housing situation in the Silver Valley has only gotten more complicated over time.

“It’s not enough, obviously we can’t rent housing,” Whatcott said.

The district has emergency vouchers for local hotels when families go through the whiplash of unexpectedly losing housing and having nowhere to land. None have been needed so far this year.

“That’s not necessarily because there hasn’t been a need, they just haven’t sought it out,” Whatcott said.

Clothing is the biggest need, followed by school supplies. 

“Winter hits hard because you have the kids who don’t have proper winter clothing,” Whatcott said.

Hygiene kits are critical for younger and older students with slightly different needs. 

Because of the rise of families living in campers who use propane for heat and cooking, the district has an account with one of the gas stations to step in if the need arises.

Free or reduced lunches have been secured for the year in the elementary and middle schools for the district, but food insecurity in high school is often hard to track because high school students often don't identify housing instability. 

With the rising cost of rent, residences purchased as vacation homes, a growing Airbnb population and a lack of low-income housing, Whatcott worries about the housing insecurity issues growing in the area.

“It’s not necessarily people who are unemployed or homeless, it’s regular people who are in double-income families not being able to have housing,” Whatcott said.

Lakeland Joint School District

At the moment, a few students are receiving transportation to and from Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls McKinney-Vento assistance in the Lakeland Joint School District.

About 33 students have qualified for McKinney-Vento this year, and Norma Needs said keeping kids in the school where they have friends and deep connections is critical, so the extra transportation support can ensure kids don’t have to transfer districts. 

“All of a sudden, your future can look different. When a parent has to call me and tell me that they’re homeless, the last thing they want to hear is we’re going to uproot them,” Needs said.

Fuel cards for transportation are also occasionally used to help families with transport.

“All of this is centered on getting students to school as a place that’s stable and comfortable to them. It’s just a time in their life when you don’t want to add something new,” Needs said.

The students' needs can often change a lot from year to year. For instance, in one case, the district stepped in to help with medical care for a student experiencing housing instability.

Needs have been especially encouraged by efforts the district has made to make secondary education options available and easier for students in temporary housing to navigate. In what can often be tumultuous times in their lives, education and plans for ensuring a stable future can be a guiding light.

By the numbers
McKinney-Vento students

Coeur d’Alene School District: 

2023-24: 428
2022-23: 550

Kellogg School District:

2023-24: 76
2022-23: 87 

Lakeland Joint School District:

2023-24: 33

Organizations that support student homeless needs in the Coeur d’Alene School District include: St. Vincent dePaul of North Idaho, Family Promise, Children’s Village, CDA Backpack Program, Coeur Community Closet, school supply drive with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and KREM 2, First Presbyterian Neighborhood Closet, Safety Net, KROC Center church partnerships and Windermere Foundation.

Families experiencing homelessness or need services in the district can speak directly to their school counselor or call McKinney-Vento liaison James Curb at 208-664-8241 ext. 10061.

    Sarah Murphy talks about the need at Pinehurst Elementary School students experiencing housing issues to receive warm weather attire.
  

    School secretary Corinna Waldo goes through supplies in the Pinehurst Elementary School for students receiving McKinney-Vento assistance.
  

    Backpacks filled with supplies from a past event for students in need in the Coeur d'Alene school district.