Mentor A Promise

  Photo Credit: RomanR - stock.adobe.com The 2025-2026 school year begins on Thursday, September 4, 2025. Even for the more fortunate members of our fair city, back-to-school can be a hectic time, complete with last-minute purchases of pencils, pens, notebooks and other school supplies as well as new outfits that will fit your growing children. However, these things are luxuries some New Yorkers simply can’t afford, potentially jeopardizing their academic performance. For those who would like to help, this blog post will discuss how you can help homeless New York City students prepare for the new school year.  How Important Are School Supplies for Homeless New York City Students?  It may sound like a cliché, but having a solid educational foundation can open many doors for people of all backgrounds, not just the privileged. We might not think about pencils, notebooks and other school supplies as such, but they are crucial to academic success. Possessing the necessary scho...

Photo Credit: SerPhoto - stock.adobe.com For many children, summer break is a time of excitement and exploration, free from the demands of school and extracurricular activities. But for the less fortunate children of New York City and elsewhere, the summer is a period of anxiety and deprivation. Without the breakfasts and lunches provided to them by their schools, these children will experience food insecurity and, yes, even hunger. This blog post will discuss summertime hunger among homeless New York City children, its prevalence, its impact on developing minds and bodies and how we can assist this vulnerable population.  How Common Is Summertime Hunger Among Homeless Children in New York City?  Before we delve into the numbers, the authors of this blog post would like to state that hunger is not exclusive to the summer months, nor is it constrained merely to young people who lack a safe, reliable place to sleep at night. Indeed, many New Yorkers from low income families expe...

  Photo Credit: BUddhika - stock.adobe.com Though not exclusive to the United States, domestic violence pervades every stratum of American society, crossing age, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious and other boundaries. Given the exact wrong set of circumstances, anybody can become a victim. In fact, in New York City, domestic violence has been the leading cause of homelessness for families with minor children for the past eight years. This blog post will explore the effect domestic violence has on homeless NYC students as well as potential solutions.  How Many Homeless NYC Students Have Experienced Domestic Violence?  Though the exact number fluctuates with the given fiscal year, approximately 40 percent of families with children who have entered a Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelter report domestic violence as the cause of their homelessness. [ 1 ] As of March 16, 2025, 18,135 families resided in one of our city’s shelters. [ 2 ] This equates to roughly 7,254 fam...

  Photo Credit: Mechastock - stock.adobe.com Clichéd as it sounds, high performance in school can open many doors for students, even those without stable housing. Along with confidence and a strong support system, these students have a greater chance of breaking the cycle of homelessness. That said, high performance in school requires educational continuity, such as that provided by staying at a school of origin. This blog post will explore why homeless NYC students should stay at their school of origin as well as the rights and resources available to ensure that.  What Is A School of Origin? “School of origin” is a clunky legalistic phrase that can be translated as the “school the student attended before they became homeless or the school in which the student was last enrolled.” [ 1 ]. This definition would include preschools and, in the event a student completes the final grade level served by the school of origin, the designated receiving school at the next grade level whic...