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Advocates for homeless youth to speak at national convention
Men will travel to New Mexico
By NATALIE JOHNSON
ncttalie@ma so ncou n ty.co rn
A small program de-
signed to help homeless
young adults complete
their high school education
has earned a spotlight on a
national stage.
Two local advocates for
youth, Miles Nowlin. a
liaison for homeless stu-
dents in the Sheltort School
District, and Michael Dia-
mond, from Youth Empow-
erment Strategies (YES),
a Shelton nonprofit, have
been invited to present
at the annual National
Homeless Conference put
on by the National Asso-
ciation for the Education
of Homeless Children. The
conference is scheduled for
Oct. 27 - Oct. 30 in Albu-
querque, N.M.
"It's a really big deal for
the school district," Nowlin
said. "Our program has got
a lot of attention around
the state at the different
homelessness conferences."
At the conference, Nowl-
in and Diamond plan to
give a multimedia and in-
teractive presentation on
the Mason County Hous-
ing Options for Students
in Transition (HOST) Pro-
gram.
The program works to
help homeless students,
from age 18-22 years old,
earn their GEDs or high
school diplomas.
Currently, the HOST
program is operating at
capacity and serving 14
students who are working
to earn their GED or di-
ploma.
The program provides
a combination of housing,
case management and ac-
ademic tracking, Nowlin
said.
"The whole idea behind
this thing is it's not just
housmg -- it's housing and
school," he said.
The program is fund-
ed by a variety of small
grants, most notably
grahts from Shelton and
Skookum Rotary clubs and
the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
In the first 18 months of
the HOST program, eight
of its students graduated.
Of the 20 students who
have participated in the
program over the last two
years, most are on track to
earn their GED or diplo-
ma, and two have dropped
OUt.
"It gets kids to gradu-
ate," Nowlin said.
The HOST program can
help a dozen or so kids at
a time, but the demand
for services for homeless
youth continues to grow far
beyond its capabilities.
In the last three years.
Nowtin said he has seen an
increased need for services
for homeless students in
Shelton.
In the 2009/2010 school
year, 322 students quali-
fied as homeless at one
point in the year, 33 who
were classified as unac-
companied youth, meaning
they were homeless and
also not living with a par-
ent or legal guardian.
In the next two years,
the numbers jumped. In the
2010/2011 school year, 433
students were homeless.
with 87 unaccompanied.
Nowlin said the increase in
unaccompanied students
might be due partly to
better counts of homeless
students by staff, but that
the higher numbers mirror
statewide averages.
In the 2011/2012 school-
year, the number of home-
less students went down to
397, but unaccompanied
students increased to 112.
While the demand for
services for homeless
youth has gone up during
the recession, federal fund-
ing for such programs has
decreased.
In 2009, NAECHY Legal
Council Patricia Julianelle
wrote a paper called
"Housing + High School =
Success," which encour-
aged creative approaches
to funding programs for
homeless and unaccompa-
nied youth.
"That publication in-
spired us to build the
HOST program," Nowlin
saxd. "She has inspired me
so much to get creative and
push our community to
support our young people."
Nowlin said Julianelle
will present an updated
draft of her article at the
conference with sections
pertaining directly to the
HOST program.
During the conference,
Nowlin and Diamond plan
to give a presentation
which includes a video
about homelessness among
Mason County's youth pro-
duced by local teens and
young adults.
Nowlin said he hopes
Journal pnoto D) Natahe Johnsor
Miles Nowlin, homeless liaison for the Shelton School District, will
speak with Michael Diamon of Youth Empowerment Strategies at a
national homeless conference next month about the Mason County
HOST program.
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attending the conference
will draw attenti°n t° I" ~'~~~° ~ ~9~~ i!i ....... S3 • ~~i
the HOST program and i ~ i5 COMPLETE
may help it grow and im-
prove, l:!:ill : !
"It's going to be a really ~l~i
great opportunity to bring ~
back new ideas," he Said.
TFIADITIONS
100% ADDITIVE-FREE
4 Mason County residents arrested for DUIs
during recent 'Drive Hammered' campaign
STAFF REPORT
pr@rnasoncounty.co~n
The Washington Traffic Safey Commis-
sion announced the results this week for
its latest Drive Hammered. Get Nailed
campaign.
Four people were stopped and ar-
rested for driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs (DUI) by extra patrols,
funded by the Traffic Safety Commis-
sion, in Mason County from Aug. 17-
Sept. 3.
Last year, officers arrested 13 people
in Mason County during tl~e Drive Ham-
mered, Get Nailed campaign.
Statewide, officers arrested 1.603 driv-
ers for DUI during the campaign.
The Mason County Sheriffs Office. the
Shelton Police Department and the Wash-
ing~on State Patrol participated in the
campaign in Mason County.
According to the Traffic Safety Com-
mission, more roadway deaths occur
during August than any other month in
Washington.
For more information about the Wash-
ington Traffic Safety Commission, visit
www.wtsc.wa.gov.
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Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 - Page