(Feb. 24) -- It's no secret, Las Vegas has a homeless problem. But recently it's been hitting entire families. That means more school age children are learning what it means to be out on the streets.
Every morning 9-year-old Victoria spends a few minutes with her dad before she boards the school bus. She's getting ready for another day of third grade. She's a normal little girl. An honor roll student with one exception. Victoria has a secret. Her friends at school don't know she's homeless. "I don't want to tell them because they'll probably make fun of me," said Victoria.
Every day instead of going "home", she comes to the Shade Tree Shelter. She does her homework and then spends the night with her mom and two brothers. For now, the shelter is home.
According to the school district, a child isn't only considered homeless if they're living out here on the streets. They're also homeless if they're living in a shelter, hotel or motel, RV or a car.
Today, Jeff Rivera is a successful consultant in the entertainment industry. But as a teen his life wasn't so glamorous. For a few months, Jeff, his brother and his mom were living in their car on the streets of Las Vegas. Jeff is now using his experience to help others. He visits shelters and he speaks to homeless children. He know's their pain.
According to Rivera, "if you don't have the right shoes, the right car, the right clothes, you are viewed as an outcast. I can just imagine how much harder it is for those kids." Jeff also wrote a book titled "Oh Yes I Can" and it is filled with words of inspiration from celebrities.
There are 1600 Clark County school age children who are considered homeless. Myra Berkovits is part of Clark County school district's Homeless Education Program. "The priority in families in a homeless situation is not school," said Berkovits.
She and her staff work day after day to keep homeless kids in school. They not only identify homeless children, but their individual problems.
"They come to school with a lot of worries. One of them being 'where am I gonna sleep tonight?' Children who are in a homeless situation, transitional situation are really very likely to have anxiety, depression and all sorts of things that shouldn't happen to young children," adds Berkovits.
To help alleviate some of the worry, the district helps homeless children get new shoes, new clothes and the things they need, so school can be a positive experience. They get free breakfast and lunch. Just this year the district started providing special transportation to and from school. Even if a child moves into a shelter across town, they don't have to change the school they've been going to for years
Their goal is to make it a little easier. They want to give children who have to live the homeless life, some sense of "normalcy."
If you would like to donate to the Homeless Education Program, you can call Myra Berkovits at 799-2939.
