LYNN — Lynn Public Schools is implementing a new program aimed at keeping homeless students in school.
This spring, Lynn English and Lynn Classical High schools will begin offering services from YouthHarbors, an intervention program that provides housing, academic, and career-oriented support to students experiencing homelessness.
Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said at a recent School Committee meeting that the program, which serves youth aged 18-22, will become part of the district’s dropout prevention effort.
According to the Justice Resource Institute, which administers the program and partners with local high schools, unaccompanied, homeless high school students are 87 percent more likely than their housed peers to drop out of school.
“YouthHarbors-eligible students are ambitious, hard-working students who are determined to complete their high school education,” said Tutwiler. “This is difficult, however, when considering the hierarchy of need, (such as) food and housing.
“YouthHarbors works to ensure that these youth are safely housed and given the tools and skills they need to be able to focus on their future and achieve success.”
The city’s school district reports the highest number of homeless students in the state. There were 531 youth experiencing homelessness in Lynn last school year, according to a report from WGBH.
Statewide, the number of homeless students unaccompanied by a parent or guardian has doubled in the last decade. Last school year, there were about 1,400 of those youth identified in Massachusetts, according to WGBH.
Carolyn Troy, Lynn’s executive director of social-emotional learning, said YouthHarbors provides a continuum of services to meet the needs of homeless high school students to ensure their graduation, housing stability and successful transition to adulthood.
“Homeless youth or youth at risk of becoming homeless and unaccompanied youth are a vulnerable, disenfranchised population,” said Troy. “If students are facing challenges, such as wondering where they will sleep that night or where their next meal will come from, or how many hours they have to work to afford to rent a room, or buy warm clothes or food, they are in survival mode.
“They are often forced to choose between meeting basic needs and pursuing their education,” she said.
Although the program is tailored to meet each student’s “unique needs,” the premise for what services will be provided is the same, school administrators said.
The program’s immediate priority is to secure housing for students so they can focus on school. Students will then work with a social worker and case manager to gain the tools and skills they need to become successful, Troy said.
For instance, life skills workshops will be tailored for each individual student, which could be career-oriented, such as helping youth write a résumé, find a job and prepare for interviews; domestic, such as learning how to cook, maintain an apartment and cohabitate with a roommate; academic, such as preparing for further education and connecting with a tutor; or financial, such as learning how to budget, save money and pay bills on time, Tutwiler said.
YouthHarbors has already been implemented in Everett, Malden, Lowell, Jeremiah Burke, and Somerville High schools, and Boston Day and Evening Academy, according to the Justice Resource Institute website.
The program is being funded by a grant, Troy said, which will pay for two full-time YouthHarbors staff members, a clinical social worker and case manager, who will provide on-site services to students.
School staff can refer students to the program or teens can seek out the support on their own. A case manager can typically handle about 20-25 students at a time, but Troy anticipates that will be fluid as some teens will transition out of the program, which will allow others to be serviced.
Students are expected to stay in the program for about six to 12 months. After that time, they will qualify for alumni services.
Troy said the school district has always worked to provide support for homeless students, but the partnership with YouthHarbors, which specializes in the work, “widens the safety net” for Lynn’s youth.
“It is much-needed, targeted and effective,” said Tutwiler.
