Project Hope Alliance Helps Orange County's Homeless Students Reach College Dreams

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Project Hope Alliance and CEO Jennifer Friend have one mission in mind: end the cycle of homelessness in Orange County, and ultimately the nation, one child at a time.

This year, they implement a three-year, $600,000 grant funded by a private foundation. That significant gift has enabled Project Hope Alliance to expand from Newport Mesa Unified School District to both Santa Ana schools and Huntington Beach High School, the very halls she walked when she was a student without a home.

Project Hope Alliance serves homeless students, Kindergarten through High School. Their support team consists of people on school sites from janitorial staff to nurses and on site case workers.

"We're on all campuses in real time, to help students when help is needed," she says. Often, parents are unreachable. The caseworkers are all the students have.

Thier expansion is thanks to an unnamed supporter, in a three-year multi-year $600,000 grant.

"It offers seed money for our expansion," she says of the funding, and the expansion is desperately needed in Orange County, where wealth and poverty sit in the same classroom. There are many students experiencing homelessness who feel completely alone, invisible, a feeling she can understand.

"People assume that all kids are affluent (in these schools)," Friend tells Patch. "The kids experiencing homelessness have shame associated with that, they feel invisible, creating emotional trauma on top of economic difficulty."

In the morning a student may need a toothbrush, toothpaste and clean clothes, according to Friend. Throughout the day, they may have a discipline issue, and no one to advocate for them.

That is where the on-site case managers come in.

"A lot of our kids witness domestic violence," she says. "They show up upset, and perhaps express that with a peer. With our case managers, we can advocate right away for our kids, and share with the administration what they are going through so we can problem solve together."

A History Of Homeless Students In Orange County

"When I was in junior high, my family was evicted from our housing for the first time," she tells Patch. For the next several years, they bounced between stable housing and hotels, and the den of friends. "We were and still are a close-knit family, always supporting and loving each other even though times were hard," she said.

Friend and her siblings were some of Orange County's "motel kids."

Then, she attended Huntington Beach High School and became close friends with a family from her church. She was encouraged and supported by teachers and staff and was sent to the Mock UN.

"My parents didn't have the money, but the parents of the booster club scholarshipped me so I could go to Harvard, to Berkeley," she says. "It was beautiful generosity that made my high school experience positive, despite the hardship."

She was able to graduate, go to college and attain her dreams as a lawyer. Still, the pull to help others in her same situation was intense.

Guided To Join Project Hope Alliance

Friend was 41 when she saw the doccumentary "Motel Kids of Orange County," with her brother. The documentary hit close to home, and shared how so many of Orange County's high school students hide their homelessness.

She then learned of Project Hope Alliance, and how they provided bussing for homeless students. With an operating budget of $32,000 they transported 65 kids to high schools.

"I went in interested to the board meeting, wanting to learn more," she says. "I left as their recording secretary."

Using her knowledge and experiences, she became enmeshed in helping the alliance. With supporting messages from church, she ended up ultimately became CEO. That was nine years ago.

Friend has grown the alliance's commitment to supply both Newport Mesa Unified School District, Santa Ana schools and Huntington Beach High School's homeless students to provide support where needed.

"PHA provides a case manager for each 30 students in meaningful ways," she tells us. They provide emotional support, access to essential items such as clothing, food, supplies and tutoring," Friend says. They also help the students navigate the myriad of other challenges that homelessness can bring.

Friend has grown the alliance into an organization that provides 24/7 support for the young in desperate need of social-emotional development, basic needs and enrichment opportunities that can be tailored to each child.

Nine Years Of Serving Orange County's Homeless Students

After nine years, Friend and Project Hope Alliance are seeing the fruits of their labors come to pass. UCI has stepped in to offer tutoring support, and Project Hope case workers have helped students graduate from high school and move on to higher learning.

A young man who lived in a tent in Newport Beach's Back Bay is now in his fourth year of college.

Another group of kids who lived in a car are now graduating in June.

Friend believes that having someone to go to, to help guide them in their journey beyond their situation, has played a factor in changing these young people's lives.

"Having a friend at Huntington Beach High School made all the difference in the world to me," she says. "They never judged me or think twice about when I didn't have money for the movies."

Friend remembers the way they cared her with no true understanding of what she was going through, but providing dignity and the belief that she was worthy.

"And that is what we hope to give to these students," she says.

With the help of mentors and case workers, their students have achieved a high school graduation rate of more than 20 percent over the national average, she says.

Project Hope, and Friend, belive they can grow their organization nationwide, breaking barriers one school at a time.

"When you know you are not invisible, it makes all the difference."

For more information visit projecthopealliance.org or follow Project Hope Alliance on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.