Long Island Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness - Community Input Survey - K-12 Education

The Long Island Continuum of Care (CoC) is engaging in a strategic planning process to address homelessness in the region. A strategic plan will help us to understand where we are currently in our efforts to address homelessness, where we want to go, and how we will get there. In an effort to develop new strategies and solutions that are truly community-driven, we are looking for input from our partners across systems and sectors. Our goal is to understand what is currently working well in our homeless response system, what could be improved, and what is missing when we consider the needs of people both at-risk of and experiencing homelessness. The input gathered through this process will help to shape the strategies that build out our action plan.

We know that schools play an extremely important role in the homeless response system as they are often where children and youth who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability are identified and connected to resources. We believe that K-12 education staff, and McKinney Vento liaisons in particular, have valuable insight into the needs of the young people they are seeing day to day, as well as the best solutions to address them. Please share as much detail as possible in your responses to this survey.
1.Which county is your school located in?
2.When children and their families or unaccompanied youth share that they are experiencing homelessness (e.g., sleeping in a shelter or motel) or are in danger of becoming homeless (e.g., facing eviction or other displacement), what are some of the primary needs they express?
3.Which resources have been most effective and accessible for helping people to meet those needs?
4.Are there resources you wish there were more of, or resources that you wish existed for the people you encounter?
5.Are there any trends that concern you? For example, an increase in homelessness among a certain population, or more people describing a specific unmet need?
6.What additional training and support are needed to better identify and assist students experiencing homelessness?
7.What else can you share with homeless response system leaders about homelessness on Long Island and what steps should be taken towards solving it?