Finally, a School for Homeless Children : * O.C. Coalition Acts With Foresight in Setting Up Classes for Underprivileged Youths

The tragedy of homelessness weighs heavily on all age groups, but nowhere with such urgency as it does on children. The future, after all, belongs to the young. And homelessness deprives a future generation of promise.

In Orange, a wonderful coalition of interest groups is working to help homeless children get off to a better start. Project Hope School offers half a day of classes in reading, writing and arithmetic four days a week. There is also a Friday session of arts, crafts and field trips at the YWCA in Orange. The school, in operation for more than a year, is designed to allow children from displaced and financially struggling families to have a fighting chance to make their way into the mainstream.

The Orange County Department of Education provides a teacher and instructional aide. The YWCA offers free breakfast and lunch, and volunteer tutoring. And First Presbyterian Church of Orange donates use of a classroom in its building next door to the Y.

For some of these youngsters, the Hope School provides a similar experience to the old one-room schoolhouses. And because the youngsters share a common experience, having them together can reinforce efforts to build self-esteem. This, of course, is by way of preparation to help homeless children get used to a regular school environment for later on. The goal is to eventually get the children into a school program. For a time, however, there is the understanding that this program may not be able to provide them with all the courses, such as social studies, that they might like to receive in an ordinary school.

But the children seem to be coming away with a sense of optimism, which is perhaps the most valuable lesson of all. That means everything for them and for the society at large.

Although the safety net may be weak, there is no reason why homelessness has to be permanent. Those who fall through need not necessarily stay disadvantaged for a lifetime. But children who are lost and unattended to may indeed be permanently derailed if they fall too far behind the mainstream of education.

This program is thus an affirmation. It shows how agencies at various levels, combining their efforts with the county, can join to attack a common problem.

Just as the homeless adults may need transitional assistance, so too do youngsters. And education for homeless youth should not be an afterthought. It is as basic as housing. If these youngsters can learn, society, too, will benefit.