Close to 60 students considered homeless in district, car show helps them out

The Sixth Annual Heritage Days Car Show in July was about more than just showing off fancy rigs. It also raised $1,449 to help homeless students in School District 6, of which there are about 60 annually.

The problem of homeless students in the district came to light a few years ago. Then district superintendent Michael Nicosia went to a workshop about the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program in Montana. As the district's homeless liaison, he identified one student who met the program's standards at the time.

That number has grown substantially since.

With the help of teachers, counselors, the high school nurse, and family and friends of homeless students, they have now established that approximately 60 students are without a permanent home, about 40 of those are at Columbia Falls High School.

"That was kind of a shock to me," high school nurse Cathy Dragonfly said. Dragonfly graduated from Columbia Falls. She's been the high school nurse since 2007 and leads the program at the high school, making direct contact with the students.

"This district cares about kids," she said. "They put their money where their mouth is."

The conditions of homeless students may not match the picture most people have in mind. A homeless child or youth is one that doesn't have a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, according to McKinney-Vento program guidelines. They may be living in a campground, a car or abandoned building, a place that doesn't have running water and electricity. Students may qualify if they are living with relatives or friends because of family economic hardship or loss of housing.

Some children qualify because their parents are working in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota or Montana.

The first thing Dragonfly tells a child is "they qualify for free food, and that we have some items that were donated if they'd like to go shop in our Wildcat warehouse store." She avoids using the word homeless because of the associated stigma.

The schools are able to offer free breakfast and lunch through state law. Through the Montana Food Bank Network BackPack Program, the district offers bags of food for weekends and holidays. The store at the high school offers free laundry, haircuts and food vouchers, and toiletries, clothing and bedding.

They are always looking for donations. Currently the need is back to school supplies - backpacks, notebooks, pens and pencils. Toiletries - shampoo, deodorant, feminine products-and socks are always a need and have to be restocked throughout the year.

Dragonfly also buys things as the need arises. One time she had two students who needed size 13 shoes - not easy to find secondhand.

A few past donors are Columbia Falls Food Bank, Garden of Eden Thrift Store, the Klothes Kloset, Whitefish Credit Union and several churches.

That's in addition to the car show, which wouldn't have been possible without Nicosia and district substitute custodian Raymond Nevins who organized the show with the intent of raising funds for homeless youth.

"We couldn't have done it without the generosity of Columbia Falls businesses and residents," Nevins said.

Nevins collected items for a raffle and they had a container at the show for donations. They charged $10 per car for a total of 70 cars. Thirteen car owners were awarded a trophy sponsored by the businesses.

"I'd known about Kalispell schools having a problem, but I never dreamt of Columbia Falls students having that problem," Nevins said.

Dragonfly plans on using the car show donation for shelving, organizing bins and hangers for the donated clothing and bags.

But this is just the start because her real goal is much bigger, she said. She is currently working with a local committee to bring a children's shelter to Columbia Falls.

"Our goal was to help out nurse Dragonfly," Nevins said. They plan to use donations from next year's car show to continue helping the program.

He said it is a big effort for these students to not give up, to graduate high school and hopefully continue on to college.

"If we can support them, then that's my goal to see them go further," he said. "Once you're out of high school you're on your own."