For Immediate Release
February 6, 2008
ISBE brings national figure in to call attention to education
of homeless teens
Carissa Phelps shares her struggles from
homeless teen to UCLA Law and MBA graduate
CHICAGO – The Illinois State Board of Education
(ISBE) is highlighted the issue of homeless youth today
during the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Annual Statewide
Conference in Chicago. Carissa Phelps, a former homeless
teen who has gone on to graduate from UCLA with an MBA
and law degree and is the subject of a documentary, shared
her personal struggles of life as a homeless teen who
moved through the education system in California. With
an estimated, 60,000 homeless students in Illinois, the
State board has made training school personnel to compassionately
identify and respond to the needs of homeless students
a priority.
“The education of our homeless children is a priority
for the State Board of Education,” said State Superintendent
Christopher A. Koch. “We are pleased to have Carissa
here to share her inspiring personal story about being
a homeless teen and the issues she faced. We hope that
this visit can help teachers, administrators and students
identify with the face of homelessness.”
During her 90-minute presentation, Phelps showed portions
of her yet-to-be-released documentary, “Carissa.” The
piece tells the real-life story of Phelps who, at the
age of 12, was abandoned by her mother in the lobby of
Fresno’s Juvenile Hall. Feeling unsafe and with
few resources available, she fled to the streets where,
homeless and alone, she had to take care of herself.
The documentary explores her life on the streets between
ages 12 and 14, following her to the exact locations
where it all took place. The film also captures Phelps
in her final year at UCLA, where she recently graduated
with joint law and MBA degrees.
"The lack of supportive housing and meaningful
alternatives to the streets, gangs, and crime is the
same in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Fresno,” Phelps
said. “Young people have limitless potential to
be doctors, lawyers, leaders, and more in our communities.
Whether we inspire them or not, they will determine our
future as a nation.”
Data collected by local school districts in 2006 indicated
approximately 18,000 students in Illinois schools were
homeless. However, based upon the most current research
methodology, and the 750,000 students who receive free
or reduced price lunches, it is estimated that the number
is more likely 60,000 homeless students in Illinois.
Phelps’ journey highlights the growing issue of ‘unaccompanied
youth’ in Illinois. The term unaccompanied youth,
as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Act includes
a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
This would include runaways living in runaway shelters,
abandoned buildings, cars, on the streets, or in other
inadequate housing; children and youth denied housing
by their families (sometimes referred to “throwaway
children and youth”); and school-age unwed mothers
living in homes for unwed mothers because they have no
other housing available.
The annual NCLB conference is sponsored by the Illinois
Resource Center in collaboration with ISBE; the Illinois
NCLB Consolidated Committee of Practitioners; Illinois
Association of Title I Directions; Illinois Coalition
for Title I Parents and the Illinois Title I Teachers’ Association.
Additional information on homeless education issues
can be accessed at http://homelessed.net or by calling
the Illinois State Board of Education Information Hotline
at 800-215-6379.
Additional information about Phelps and the documentary
can be found online at www.carissaproject.com.
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