ACTION OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARENT LEADERS

What homeless children need most of all is a home. While they are experiencing homelessness, however, children desperately need to remain in school. School is one of the few stable, secure places in the lives of homeless children and youth -- a place where they can acquire the skills needed to help them escape poverty.

Parent leaders in schools and of organizations have a critical role to play in assisting parents of homeless children and youth. Just as the school district must appoint a staff person as the liaison for homeless children, parent leaders should also appoint someone from the parent ranks to be available to help homeless parents. In addition, parent leaders should be responsible for including homeless parents in parent organizations, making them feel welcome, and providing special assistance. Parent leaders should do the following:

•	Know the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Education Act and know what the responsibility of the state, school district and schools are in assuring homeless children and youth a successful school experience.
•	Advise homeless parents and students about their rights under the McKinney-Vento Act.
•	Become more aware of your language. Try to minimize language in your own and others’ vocabularies that refers to people experiencing homelessness in derogatory ways. By using expressions such as "people experiencing homelessness" rather than labels such as "bum," "transient," or even "the homeless," we remind ourselves that people who are in such situations are still people first–just people who are going through a difficult period in their lives. In a time when they may find it difficult to hold onto their sense of humanity, it is particularly important that we do not use language that further diminishes the dignity of people in homeless situations.
•	Know who the homeless liaison is in your school district, and assure that person has the financial and staff help they required to meet the needs of homeless children.
•	Make sure that homeless parents are included in school functions, PTA/parent meetings, parent-teacher meetings, and volunteer activities.
•	Be aware of the special needs that homeless parents have, and be recognized by homeless parents as someone they can reach out to for help. Beyond services provided by the schools, coordinate with other community organizations such as health, social services, homeless shelters, and child-care providers in meeting the needs of homeless families.
•	In working with homeless parents and families, work in coordination with the school liaison as much as possible. Being a parent, you can do much to help homeless parents feel welcome in the school, and serve as a cultural bridge between the school and the homeless parent. In the cases that schools do not know about the McKinney-Vento Act, you should bring the provisions to their attention. If the school does not comply with McKinney, you should meet with the district homeless liaison. If that does not produce action, meet with the superintendent, president/chair of the school board, and as a last resort, to the state department of education.
•	Working with various sectors of the community (e.g. city/county officials, members of Congress, direct service providers, and the business community) to develop workable strategies for responding to homelessness.
•	Advocate for adequate funding at the local, state and national levels to assure adequate resources in providing education and other services for homeless children and families.
•	Work with children by assisting program directors that are coordinating events such as field trips, picnics or art workshops for children staying in homeless shelters. Find out if there are children who could benefit from tutors or mentors.
•	In working with homeless parents and families, make sure that the school district provides the following outreach in implementing the McKinney Act: