Esquibel comes to the position from the 27J Human Resources Department where she was a technician for classified staff for two years. The new position is part-time over the two-year grant period.
As community outreach coordinator for the grant, Esquibel said she will “reach out to homeless students and collaborate with district departments so, as a team, we can meet individualized students’ needs.
“In addition, I’ll be working with community agencies and resources to help homeless students and their families; and to involve the parents in helping the child with their educational needs.”
Who is homeless? According to grant guidelines, the term “homeless children and youth” means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and includes –
A) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
B) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings…
C) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
D) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (A) through (D).
“I need concerned individuals and organizations to refer students who meet one or more of the above,”
D) Esquibel said. “As a community working together, we can truly reach out and make a difference in the lives of children.”
Esquibel’s community outreach and education efforts will help identify homeless children and youth to ensure the district is not missing the opportunity to provide needed services. She also will locate resources available within the 27J community and provide the information to the parents.
In addition to funding the position, the grant includes transportation funds to provide bus passes or to reimburse parents who choose to provide their own transportation to school from an out-of-district location such as the Denver Homeless Shelter.
Part of the $60,000 two-year grant money will go to provide homeless preschool children with books that they can keep. Statistics show that having access to books and print literature at an early age increases student achievement and success in later years.
The final amount of money will be spent to provide district community liaisons with notebooks of resource material that they can carry with them as they work with the families. The materials will be in English and in Spanish. The same materials will be posted on the district Web site so parents may have ongoing access to the resource information. It, too, will be available in English and in Spanish.
For more information on the program, contact Esquibel at 303-655-2822 or besquibel@sd27j.org.
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