DV Press Conference

During October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we celebrate the lives saved and focus on the work remaining to be done. Some of you might have heard about last week's Domestic Violence Awareness Press Conference. The press conference was organized by MAG and included an audience of leaders, service providers, and domestic violence survivers. The keynote speaker, a young mother of three and DV surviver, told a moving story about her ordeals and the struggles she went through to overcome DV. The event was held at the Crysalis Shelter for Domestic Violence. More information about the conference and upcoming events can be found at http://www.azmag.gov/Human_Services/.

Last week, I also had the priveledge of hearing Frank Migali of the AZ Department of Education speak about McKinney-Vento Title 7. This portion of the act describes the educational rights for children that are considered homeless by definition. McKinney-Vento defines homelessness as:

(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of section 103(a)(1)); and
(B) includes--

(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of section 103(a)(2)(C));
(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
(iv) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

According to Mr. Migali, there are over 30,000 students that fall under this definition of homelessness in Arizona alone. More information about solutions can be found at The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) website, http://www.naehcy.org/.

I will continue to post information regarding projects and events organized by MAG and other service providers around the city. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at nlanza@azmag.gov. Thank you for reading!


Nick