our model of care
What if our kids were the last in their families to experience homelessness?
We believe education transforms lives and we know when kids experiencing homelessness graduates high school, they are 400% less likely to experience homelessness as adults. To ensure our kids thrive in school and in life, we go to where our kids are every day: school. Every year, we support 400 kids experiencing homelessness from kindergarten to 24 as well as their family touching the lives of over 1,100 individuals annually.
Project Hope Alliance was featured in “Hidden in Plain Sight” as one of the nation’s leading solutions to ending youth homelessness.
Case management services:
Connecting youth to a stable, trusted adult
We work one-on-one with youth experiencing homelessness ages 5-24 providing 1:1 guidance, resources, and opportunities so they can thrive in school and in life. Our youth’s voice, their choice, and their lived experiences are central to our work of ending the cycle of homelessness. By meeting students where they are, we provide guidance, emotional support, financial assistance, and basic resources so they thrive in school and life.
Onsite Support
We place full-time, professional case managers on 11 elementary, middle, and high school campuses across Newport-Mesa Unified, Huntington Beach Union, and Santa Ana Unified School Districts, as well as a Santa Ana charter school. Each case manager has a dedicated office with a pantry stocked with food, toiletries, and emergency clothing, providing students with a safe space and immediate support.
Community Based Support
Recognizing the need beyond campuses with embedded case managers, we launched our Community-Based Case Management program to support 30 students at schools without a dedicated PHA case manager and 60 youth ages 18–24. Though we meet them in different settings, our commitment to their success in school and in life remains unchanged.
By working with a dedicated case manager, our youth receive support in the following areas:
Basic needs
We address the immediate and basic needs of our youth and their families by providing food, laundry supplies, toiletries, school supplies, gift cards, and holiday gifts. We also connect youth and families to trusted partners for housing, mental health, and legal resources
Academic support
We ensure our youth receive academic guidance, tutoring support, school supplies, financial assistance to join clubs/sports, and transportation support they need not just to attend school but to fully engage in their learning.
Advocacy
We advocate for our kids on campus to ensure they receive the resources and educational rights that are federally guaranteed under the McKinney Vento Act. We advocate for our kids in the community and across the nation by serving as active members of local youth coalitions, homelessness coalitions, and national organizations such as National Association for the Education of Homelessness Children and Youth. We incorporate youth voice in our work through our Youth Advisory Council.
College & Career Readiness
Our kids are often the first in their family to graduate high school and pursue college. We provide guidance (such as individual college planning) and opportunities (such as college campus tours) so our kids can envision a bright future, one not limited by homelessness. We also help our youth gain critical job readiness skills, network with business professionals, and help them explore all that is possible.
Enrichment
We want our kids to have experiences that all kids deserve. We provide fun, unique enrichment activities during Spring Break and Summer break so our kids can create joyful childhood memories of their own.
Life Skills
Through 1:1 coaching and structured workshops, our kids develop important life skills and knowledge in the areas of healthy relationships, resume development, mock interviews, online/social media safety, and much more. Workshop topics and curriculum are shaped with direct input from our youth.