Stepping Up For The SSN

by Trinity Whiteford staff writer

There are more than 3.5 million teens from ages ranging all the way from 18 to 25 experiencing some form of homelessness in a year. That’s one in every ten young adults, and that’s just on the higher age spectrum. More often than not, some students find themselves displaced from their homes due to a multitude of factors such as natural disasters, family dilemmas, and financial issues. After being displaced, students and their families may not know what to do, which is exactly why TCAPS founded the Student Support Network (SSN),” a program provided by TCAPS that provides free educational-related services and non-academic support to all students, ages 3-20, to help them overcome obstacles that may be barriers to their learning,” Catherine Kubesh, the SSN program coordinator and the McKinney Vento grant coordinator at TCAPS, explains. “SSN was created just this year by combining three former programs (Partners in Education/ PIE, Intense Student Support Network/ISSN, and Students in Transition Empowerment Program/ STEP). By combining them into one solid program, TCAPS is able to more efficiently identify and provide support to all students experiencing a need.”

Every public school is required to have a program that assists students with basic needs, which is the result of the McKinney Vento Act. This legislation prevents students from becoming homeless and authorizes education for students on a federal level, which is what powers the program. Haley McDonald, the head of the SSN program at Central and West, applies for grants through this act in order to help students daily. “If any student is lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, even if it’s for one night, they qualify for services from me for the entire school year,” McDonald comments. Although this money is in the school’s possession, McDonald explains that it’s still not enough to cover the supplies that the students need to live their life with stability. “That involves me checking in with them regularly, helping remove barriers that they’re able to be successful in school. So my big focus is for them to be attending school and to be successful here,” McDonald remarks. On top of that a lot of people don’t know a whole lot about what the program actually is and or does. They also do weekly check-ins with the students and have a mini counseling session. “I can check in on their grades, check in on how they’re feeling emotion- ally, seeing if they are in need of any supplies,” she mentions. In the end, the main goal of the program is to remove the barriers that students may have to be successful.

The services available vary, but the SSN program will go so far as to cover school supplies, before and after school tutoring or mentoring, clothing, basic hygiene needs, assistance with obtaining a driver’s license, and they’ll even cover referrals for housing, mental health needs, counseling, and medical services. The SSN program aims for student stability.“ 40% of our area families qualify for the free and reduced meal program,” Kubesh reveals. “The SSN was created to help all TCAPS children and youth experiencing obstacles to their learning.” Whether that means a place to stay, basic hygiene supplies, or transportation, the program will do their best to support the students and their needs. The list of the things the pantry needs is constant and is always in need of donors, and many times, different organizations within the community host supply drives. Central frequently hosts drives for SSN to ensure that students in need could have the basics, most recently at the Central-West Hockey match in December.

As hard as it may be to describe a “typical day” in the program or being the supervisor of a new program, Kubesh finds that it’s insanely busy with students and families coming in with different struggles all day, every day. Kubesh spends most of her day trying to spread the word about the program in any ways she can. “Lately, my goal has been to increase awareness of the SSN throughout our community so part of my day includes meeting with local health and human services, community businesses, and donors, as well as being a guest speaker on radio programs and at area churches and community groups,” she states. Although Kubesh works with lots of organizations to showcase the SSN, there’s more that the community can do to help the cause. “Community members are encouraged to contact us if they know a family or student who may need help. We receive referrals from local human services agencies, shelters, friends, neighbors…we rely on federal grant money and donations from community businesses, foundations, and individual donations,” Kubesh elaborates. In December, the SSN has posters throughout TCAPS schools that are participating in “the Holiday Giving Tree’’ exchange in order to help families in need.

Ultimately, Kubesh hopes that more people will support and utilize the SSN program in its new form. “My wish is for students (and families) to know that it’s okay to ask for help. Do they have to call the SSN to request help? Absolutely not! A student can talk to any TCAPS staff member about their situation. Once a staff member becomes aware of a need, that staff member refers the student directly to the SSN or to a school social worker or counselor,” says Kubesh. “There are so many caring individuals throughout TCAPS and the community — individuals who are willing and eager to help students overcome barriers to learning.”