Since its inception in September, 2018, the Safety Net for Students and Families initiative has hosted 10 training events in cities and communities across the Gulf Coast region to support partnerships among school and district personnel as well as youth and homeless services providers as well as build critical skills to support youth and families who are homeless or in unstable living conditions as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
Skill-Building Training and Consultation
Training events occurred in collaboration with our project partners – Texas Homeless Network (THN) and Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO) – as well as the organizations listed below. Each one was designed to spark or strengthen relationships between schools, youth services organizations, and other community groups and organizations serving homeless individuals. Topics included: Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, an evidence-based trauma-informed model; the legal rights of homeless youth; solution-focused crisis intervention, and McKinney-Vento legislation/school services for homeless youth. Events were held in Victoria, Beaumont, Richmond, Houston, Corpus Christi, and Texas City.
Event partners:
- Education Service Centers – Regions 2, 3, 4, 5
- BCFS Health and Human Services
- Communities in Schools of Southeast Texas
- Connections Individual and Family Services
- Family Service Center of Galveston County
- Galveston County Community Resource Coordination Group
- Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU
- Parks Youth Ranch
- Texas Appleseed
- Victoria Area Homeless Coalition
At each event, TNOYS, THN, and THEO leaders guided a discussion of local strengths, gaps, and needs in identifying and supporting homeless students and their families and consultation on potential local solutions. These discussions sparked a variety of next steps, including purposeful collaborations, further community outreach, and plans for follow-up training and technical assistance from the Safety Nets team. The events also brought together professionals that are not always in the same room together, allowing them to network and naturally spark connections and partnerships.
We look forward to our continued work in these regions, with committed local partners. In addition to training and support, we are also awarding grants. To learn more about the project, visit: https://tnoys.org/safety-nets-for-students/