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By Regina Corley
Belton ISD understands that home is where the heart is.
Through Project HEARTBEAT (Homeless Education Awareness Raising through Barrier Elimination and Training), the school district is systematically getting rid of barriers that would otherwise deter homeless students from reaching their maximum potential in school.
The number of identified homeless children in Belton ISD, based on the definition under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001, has increased significantly over the past five years. Project HEARTBEAT served 281 students during the 2008-2009 school year.
“Working with our homeless families is so rewarding because we feel that we are really able in make a difference in their lives and give them a direction that they didn’t have before,” says Project HEARTBEAT caseworker Noemi Berumen.
Project HEARTBEAT objectives include:
- Provide training on the McKinney-Vento Act and Project HEARTBEAT to social service agencies, service organizations, community members and district staff to increase awareness of and solicit support for local homeless students;
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Develop, offer and enhance a more comprehensive delivery of services to homeless students, including the use of a part-time homeless case manager;
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Provide additional counseling for homeless students through social work interns;
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For homeless students, promote greater access to, and participation in, student-enrichment activities and parent-involvement opportunities and training;
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Develop and enhance a more comprehensive data collection and monitoring system of homeless students to better assist with follow-up on referrals and student progress; and
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Support homeless and at-risk students’ academic progress through after-school homework clubs, operated by Belton ISD staff and/or Communities in Schools after-school programs.
Belton ISD was awarded a grant through the Texas Support for Homeless Education Program, which funded the addition of a full-time caseworker for Project HEARTBEAT. Moreover, the district’s Homeless Education Department has built several collaborative relationships in the community, including partnerships with Altrusa International, the local Kiwanis Club and Apple Tree, a nonprofit organization that provides new clothes and school supplies for low-income students at the start of the school year. Through its partnership with Project HEARTBEAT, Apple Tree has agreed to provide this kind of support to homeless students who are referred throughout the year.
Belton ISD’s approach to dealing with its homeless population extends beyond practical efforts and into academia. Project HEARTBEAT is working with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Social Work Department in collecting, monitoring and researching data on homeless families.
Because of these positive relationships in the community, state Child Protective Services caseworkers have started contacting Belton ISD to alert the district of children in homeless situations.
“After all that I and my children have been through, it was comforting to have someone in our corner with our best interest, health and quality of life at heart,” says a mother whose family was served by Project HEARTBEAT. “This organization really came through for my children and me during one of the most crushing times of our lives, and it will not be forgotten or taken lightly.”
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