Support k-12 Students Experiencing Homelessness

In 2024, School on Wheels:

• Tutored and mentored I,660 unhoused students offering the important consistent support that makes the greatest difference in their educational lives.
• Recruited, trained, and matched 1,246 volunteers
• Served 742 K-4 students with our Literacy Program. With literacy the single most significant predictor of future academic success, helping children (K-4) with this key subject has important lifetime implications.
• 471 students participated in our Academic Program, supporting their growth in reading or math skills using a strength-based approach to our families and harnessing educational technology.
• Served 209 students with our BUS Program (Believe/Understand/Succeed) where students receive academic support for graduation and guidance to dream a future compelling enough to remain in school.
• Distributed over 10,000 backpacks
• Provided 338 devices and hotspots to ensure students had access to the technology they needed to meet with tutors (in some cases even attend school).
• Awarded $29,000 in scholarships.
• Tutored in six counties in Southern California, in person and online.
• Raised $3,000,000 in cash and material donations

Challenges in 2024:

• Attracting more tutors so that we continue to serve more students. Tutor numbers, especially in- person, are still dampened since COVID-19. The decline in formal volunteering in the U.S. is at an alarming 30-year low of 23%.
• Wildfires in Los Angeles not only disrupted the lives of staff, volunteers, and families we serve, but have also strained our funding sources. Some of our key donors have redirected their giving toward immediate disaster relief.
• Many of our partners are facing budget cuts; Case Managers, Homeless Liaison Officers, and shelter staff are not high priorities for many of these organizations. However, they are critical to our ability to conduct outreach to our students and families.
• The instability and policy shifts of the new administration have created an increasingly difficult environment for nonprofits like ours. Sudden regulatory changes, funding cuts, and a broader climate of uncertainty—marked by policies that undermine vulnerable communities—have forced us to be more resourceful than ever. Many of those we serve are facing heightened economic and social hardships due to these changes, increasing the demand for our services at a time when securing sustainable funding has become more difficult.

Links:

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