SAFEH Portal

In 2007, Congress recognized November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (NHYAM) to build awareness of youth homelessness. This is a time to recommit ourselves to meeting the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness and acknowledge the important role education can play in preventing and ending homelessness among young people. Please review the resources below to support your school’s efforts to bring attention to this important issue.

Things School Admin and Student Support Staff Can Do During NHYAM:

1. Identify students experiencing homelessness: Run a U-PGM413 Report on Synergy to generate your school’s list of students who are identified as experiencing homelessness. You can find instructions here (link).
2. Connect with students/families with resources: If students/families need resources and/or support with academics, attendance, and/or mental wellbeing refer them to resources in the community,  shelters, or access points, and/or complete a SAFEH Resource Request form. 
3. Learn more about our responsibilities as a district: Become familiar with SFUSD’s SAFEH website and review the SAFEH Portal for more information for staff.
4. Promote McKinney-Vento Act Rights to students and families: Request copies of SFUSD’s homeless education rights posters to post in the school front offices and hallways from the SAFEH team or print the copies listed in the next section.
5. Request professional development, technical assistance, or consultation with your school’s CCT: Contact the safeh@sfusd.edu team!

Ways All Staff Can Promote NHYAM:

• Sample Calendar of Activities
• November 16th is #WearGreenDay in support of NHYAM
• Social Media Messages to Share
• Social Media Templates (.zip file)
• Zoom backgrounds (.zip file)
• Know Your Rights Posters (available in Spanish)
• Sharing a list of books & movies:
  • (Movie) The Homestretch 
  • (Movie) Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County
  • (Book) Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by: Matthew Desmond
  • (Book) Journeys out of Homelessness: The Voices of Lived Experience by: Jamie Rife & Donald W. Burnes
• Sharing Awareness Videos: 
  • SchoolHouse Connection: The Value of Education and Educators for Students Experiencing Homelessness
  • 16:49 Sixteen Hours, Forty-Nine Minutes
  • Education Week: Homeless Students in Their Own Words

Additional Resources to Explore:

• The Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center (HETAC) National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Resource webpage: https://www.hetac.org/resources/youth-awareness
• School House Connection - https://schoolhouseconnection.org/

Dear Staff,

We are reaching out to provide an important update regarding the transition from paper tickets to Clipper cards for our homeless students who rely on BART for their daily commute to and from school.

Effective November 30, 2023, BART will no longer accept paper tickets for entry. Since we were notified in late September, the SAFEH team has worked diligently to secure additional Clipper cards for students to continue using BART for school-of-origin transportation.

However, the procurement of Clipper cards is taking longer than we hoped. As a result, we are putting an interim distribution plan in place for the limited number of Clipper cards currently on hand. This means for:

• Homeless students commuting to school from outside of San Francisco: They will be prioritized for Clipper card distribution. We aim to provide these students with Clipper cards as soon as possible to ensure uninterrupted access to BART.
• Homeless students commuting within San Francisco: We recommend students use MUNI for transportation and will continue to provide transitional support to parents/caregivers accompanying students to/from school while they apply for the SFMTA Access Pass. 
• Parents/caregivers that accompany students on BART to/from school: The distribution of Clipper cards will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and depend on the availability of Clipper Cards after distribution to students. We understand the importance of parent/caregiver transportation support to/from school and must prioritize Clipper Cards for students as mandated by McKinney-Vento.

In the meantime, we appreciate your understanding and patience as we navigate this transition. We are committed to ensuring that every homeless student in our district has access to the available transportation support to attend school. 

If you come across any specific cases that require immediate attention or have any questions related to this transition, please do not hesitate to reach out to the SAFEH team for further assistance.

Thank you for your continued dedication to supporting our homeless students and their families. Together, we will make a difference in their lives and ensure their educational success.

Thank you!

SAFEH team

safeh@sfusd.edu