Why homeless kids can't make it to school on time

Global Kids races through Flushing Meadows Park

Global Kids races through Flushing Meadows Park Global Kids

Eight nonprofits fighting sexual violence have gotten their respective shares of $840,000 in grants. The money comes from the Fund for the Me Too Movement and Allies, a joint effort of the New York Women’s Foundation and Tarana Burke, the activist who coined the term “Me Too.” Two New York City-based organizations, Black Women’s Blueprint and Violence Intervention Program, were among the organizations to receive grants, according to an Oct. 16 press release. Read more here.

 

The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York has launched a new online hub. The Community is the place for members to shares ideas, find resources and connect with other service providers, according to the NPCCNY. Want to start a nonprofit? Need to know the telltale signs of fraud? Or maybe you just want to take a look at a sample data governance plan? Answers to these and other questions are available here.

 

Global Kids raised $30,000 at an Oct. 13 walkathon at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. The proceeds will benefit the nonprofit’s college and career readiness program, which includes college tours, financial aid, and internship opportunities. About 210 people took part in the event, which followed a 3.1-mile course through the World’s Fair landmarks in the park, according to an Oct. 16 press release.

 

Unique People Services has received a $1.2 million contract from the New York City Department of Social Services. The money will fund non-emergency scatter site housing and support services, according to the City Record.

 

The Police Athletic League raised $1.2 million at its 46th annual SuperStar Dinner. More than 300 people attended the event, held at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan on Oct. 2. Those in attendance included Rupert Murdoch, Ronald Perelman, actor Tony Danza, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis, and Bank of America Chairman Brian Moynihan. The event also honored Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York.

 

A new report from the city Independent Budget Office examines the barriers faced by homeless public school students on their way to school. Obstacles include the demographics of students living in temporary shelters, how housing and school placements can conflict, and how the homeless shelter system can hamper academic performance. Here are a few takeaways:

  • Families are often placed in homeless shelters far from their schools.
  • The realities of the shelter system require families to move multiple times, requiring new transportation arrangements or transfer to a new school.
  • Housing difficulties can affect children in secondary ways, like not having access to clean clothes because of a lack of laundry facilities.
  • Though more children are living in temporary shelters, the city Department of Education has not increased funding to match that growth.
  • The city’s education and homeless services departments have struggled to coordinate their services, resulting in redundancies and inefficiencies.